Questions on Kings and Chronicles 3.42–3.57
Greek text: PG 80.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 3
3.42PG 80 80:707
Τί δήποτε ἄνω μὲν τὸν Ἀχιὰ τὸν Σιλωνίτην εἶπε ῥῆξαι τὸ περιβόλαιον, καὶ δοῦναι δέκα ῥήγματα τῷ Ἱεροβοάμ, ἐνταῦθα δὲ Σαμαίαν τὸν Ἐλαμίτην; Δὶς ταῦτα γεγένηται. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἀχιὰ ζῶντος ἔτι τοῦ Σολομῶντος, καὶ τοῦ Ἱεροβοὰμ δουλεύοντος, τὴν ἀμπεχόνην διέῤῥηξεν. Ὅθεν μετὰ χρηστῆς ἐλπίδος Ἱεροβοὰμ εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἔφυγε. Σαμαίας δὲ ὁ Ἐλαμίτης μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Σολομῶντος τελευτὴν, καὶ τοῦ Ἱεροβοὰμ τὴν ἐπάνοδον, ταυτὸ τοῦτο πεποίηκεν, ἀναμιμνήσκων αὐτὸν τῆς θείας προῤῥήσεως, ὥστε μαθεῖν θεόσδοτον εἶναι τὴν βασιλείαν, καὶ τοῖς θείοις νόμοις κατακοσμῆσαι τὴν ἐξουσίαν. Ἀλλὰ ὁ δείλαιος καὶ τρισάθλιος, θεόθεν τὴν δυναστείαν λαβὼν, ἀνθρωπίναις αὐτὴν καὶ δυσσεβέσιν ἔχειν ἐπεχείρησε μηχαναῖς. Λογισάμενος γὰρ, ὡς ὁ τῶν θυσιῶν νόμος δραμεῖν ἅπαντας εἰς τὴν μητρόπολιν ἀναγκάζει, ἀνιόντες δὲ συναφθῆναι τοῖς ἄλλοις πεισθήσονται, καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν Δαβιδικὴν βασιλείαν γενήσονται, δύο δαμάλεις χρυσᾶς κατεσκεύασε, καὶ τοῖς ὁρίοις τῆς βασιλείας ἐπέστησεν· ἵν' οἱ μὲν πρὸς ἐκείνην ἀποτρέχοντες, καὶ διὰ τοῦ πελάζειν μὴ δυσχεραίνοντες, ἀσπαστῶς δέξοιντο τὸ μὴ τρέχειν εἰς τὴν μητρόπολιν. "Οριον δὲ τῆς τῶν δέκα φυλῶν βασιλείας ἀπὸ νότου μὲν, ἡ Βαιθήλ· ἀπὸ βοῤῥᾶ δὲ, ἡ Δάν. Ἔδει δὲ συνιδεῖν τὸν ἐμβρόντητον, ὡς ὁ δωρησάμενος τὴν βασιλείαν ἱκανὸς ταύτην κρατῦναι. Ἐξήλασε δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἱερέας καὶ τοὺς Λευΐτας, τοὺς ἐν ταῖς δέκα φυλαῖς οἱκοῦντας, καὶ τῶν δαμάλεων τοὺς τυχόντας ἱερέας ἐχειροτόνησε. Τοῦτο μόνον κατὰ λόγον πεποιηκώς· οὐ γὰρ ἔδει τοῦ Θεοῦ τοὺς ἱερέας τοῖς οὐκ οὖσι λατρεύειν θεοῖς.
Ti dēpote anō men ton Achia ton Silōnitēn eipe rhēxai to peribolaion, kai dounai deka rhēgmata tǭ Hieroboam, entautha de Samaian ton Elamitēn? Dis tauta gegenētai. Ho men gar Achia zōntos eti tou Solomōntos, kai tou Hieroboam douleuontos, tēn ampechonēn dierrhēxen. Hothen meta chrēstēs elpidos Hieroboam eis tēn Aigypton ephyge. Samaias de ho Elamitēs meta tēn tou Solomōntos teleutēn, kai tou Hieroboam tēn epanodon, tauto touto pepoiēken, anamimnēskōn auton tēs theias prorrhēseōs, hōste mathein theosdoton einai tēn basileian, kai tois theiois nomois katakosmēsai tēn exousian. Alla ho deilaios kai trisathlios, theothen tēn dynasteian labōn, anthrōpinais autēn kai dyssebesin echein epecheirēse mēchanais. Logisamenos gar, hōs ho tōn thysiōn nomos dramein hapantas eis tēn mētropolin anankazei, aniontes de synaphthēnai tois allois peisthēsontai, kai hypo tēn Dabidikēn basileian genēsontai, dyo damaleis chrysas kateskeuase, kai tois horiois tēs basileias epestēsen; hin' hoi men pros ekeinēn apotrechontes, kai dia tou pelazein mē dyscherainontes, aspastōs dexointo to mē trechein eis tēn mētropolin. "Orion de tēs tōn deka phylōn basileias apo notou men, hē Baithēl; apo borrha de, hē Dan. Edei de synidein ton embrontēton, hōs ho dōrēsamenos tēn basileian hikanos tautēn kratynai. Exēlase de kai tous hiereas kai tous Leuïtas, tous en tais deka phylais hoikountas, kai tōn damaleōn tous tychontas hiereas echeirotonēse. Touto monon kata logon pepoiēkōs; ou gar edei tou Theou tous hiereas tois ouk ousi latreuein theois.
Why did he say above that Ahijah the Shilonite tore his cloak and gave ten pieces to Jeroboam, but here Shemaiah the Enlamite? This happened twice. Ahijah tore his garment while Solomon was still alive and Jeroboam was a servant; so Jeroboam fled to Egypt with good hope. Shemaiah the Enlamite did the very same after Solomon's death and Jeroboam's return, reminding him of the divine prophecy, so that he would learn that the kingdom was God-given and adorn his authority with the divine laws. But the wretched and thrice-miserable man, having received power from God, tried to hold it by human and impious devices. Reckoning that the law of sacrifices obliged everyone to go to the capital, and that those who went up would be persuaded to unite with the others and come under the kingdom of David, he made two golden heifers and set them up at the borders of the kingdom, so that those who ran to them, finding it no burden because they were near, would gladly accept not having to go to the capital. The border of the kingdom of the ten tribes was Bethel to the south and Dan to the north. The thunderstruck man ought to have seen that the one who gave the kingdom was able to make it secure. He also expelled the priests and Levites who lived among the ten tribes, and appointed any chance persons as priests of the heifers. This alone he did reasonably; for the priests of God should not serve gods that are not.
1 Kgs 11:29 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 11:30 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 11:40 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 12:24 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 12:26 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 12:27 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 12:28 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 12:29 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 12:31 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Chr 11:14 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ahijah and later Shemaiah both foretold Jeroboam's kingdom; but Jeroboam, distrusting God, set up the golden calves at Bethel and Dan to keep his people from Jerusalem.
- 1 Kgs 11:29–31, 40; LXX 1 Kgs 12:24o (Shemaiah the Enlamite tears a garment); 12:26–31. The printed question lacks a question mark; the question is present.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letters and marks; stray mark; stray particle; word cut by the OCR): Ελαμίτην. τος Δὶς ταῦτα 8ª γεγένηται → Ἐλαμίτην; Δὶς ταῦτα γεγένηται; ζῶνἔτι → ζῶντος ἔτι; αὐτὸν δὲ τῆς θείας → αὐτὸν τῆς θείας; συναφθῆναι δὲ τοῖς → συναφθῆναι τοῖς; ἀποτρέχοντες ", → ἀποτρέχοντες,.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.42 (PG 80 80:707; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-42). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-42
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-42) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.43PG 80 80:709
Εἰ τὴν ἑορτὴν τοῦ Ἰούδα ἐποίησεν Ἱεροβοάμ ἐν Βαιθήλ, πῶς ἔφη ὁ συγγραφεὺς, Ἐν τῇ ἑορτῆ ἣν ἐπλάσατο ἀπὸ καρδίας αὐτοῦ; Τῇ πεντεκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ ἑβδόμου μηνὸς ἐπιτελεῖν εἰώθασι κατὰ τὸν νόμον τῆς σκηνοπηγίας τὴν ἑορτήν· οὗτος δὲ τῇ πεντεκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ ὀγδόου μηνὸς τῶν δαμάλεων ἐπετέλεσε τὴν πανήγυριν. 'Αλλ' οὐδὲ οὕτως παρεῖδεν αὐτὸν πλανώμενον ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Κύριος. ᾿Απέστειλε γὰρ προφήτην, ἐντειλάμενος αὐτῷ, μηδὲν μὲν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εἰπεῖν, τῷ ἀψύχῳ δὲ θυσιαστηρίῳ προσενεγκεῖν τὴν ἀπόφασιν Θυσιαστήριον, θυσιαστήριον, τάδε λέγει Κύριος· ἰδοὺ υἱὸς τίκτεται τῷ οἴκῳ Δαβίδ, Ἰωσίας ὄνομα αὐτῷ, καὶ θύσει ἐπὶ σὲ τοὺς ἱερέας τῶν ὑψηλῶν, καὶ τοὺς θύοντας ἐπὶ σὲ· καὶ ὀστᾶ ἀνθρώπων κατακαύσει ἐπὶ σέ. Εἶτα δίδωσι πέρας τῇ θαυματουργίᾳ, δεικνὺς τῶν εἰρημένων τὸ ἀψευδές· Ἰδοὺ γὰρ, ἔφη, ῥαγήσεται τὸ θυσιαστήριον, καὶ ἐκχυθήσεται ή πιότης ἡ οὖσα ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὁ παμπόνηρος ἐκεῖνος, δέον ἐκπλαγῆναι τοῦ προφήτου τὸ θαῦμα, καὶ δεῖσαι τὸν πεπομφότα, ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα συλληφθῆναι τὸν προφήτην προσέταξεν· ἀλλ᾽ ἔμεινε τὸ τῆς ἐκτάσεως ἔχουσα σχῆμα ἡ χεὶρ, τῶν μυῶν καὶ τῶν νεύρων διαλυθέντων. Καὶ τοῦ μὲν βωμοῦ τὸ πάθος αὐτὸν οὐ κατέπληξε τὸ δὲ τῆς χειρὸς ἄγαν ἡνίασε. Λίαν δὲ ἡλίθιος ὢν, προφήτην ἱκέτευσεν αἰτῆσαι αὐτῷ παρὰ τοῦ πεπομφότος, οὐ τῆς παρανομίας τὴν ἄφεσιν, ἀλλὰ τῆς χειρὸς τῆς ξηρανθείσης τὴν ἴασιν. Ἔδειξε δὲ καὶ ὁ προφήτης τὸ ἥμερον, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τὸ φιλάνθρωπον. Καὶ οὗτος γὰρ ᾔτησε• καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τὴν ἴασιν ἔδωκεν. Ὁ δέ γε προφήτης φενακισθεὶς ἀνιαροῖς περιέπεσεν· ὁ μὲν γὰρ βασιλεὺς αὐτὸν κοινωνῆσαί οἱ τραπέζης ἀξιώσας οὐκ ἔπεισεν. Ἔφη γὰρ τὸν πεπομφότα προστεταχέναι, μὴ τροφῆς, μὴ ποτοῦ μεταλαβεῖν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ γῇ. ῎Ἄλλος δέ τις προφήτης, ὄν τινες ψευδοπροφήτην νομίζουσι, λόγοις αὐτὸν ἐξαπατήσας μεταλαβεῖν σιτίων ἀνέπεισεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ μὲν καὶ τὸν ἄλλον προφήτην ὑπείληφα· ψευδέσι δὲ χρήσασθαι λόγοις πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐχ ἵνα τοῦτον βλάψῃ, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα αὐτὸς μεταλάβῃ τῆς εὐλογίας. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ ἱστορία διδάσκει. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν, ὅτι προφήτης καὶ πρεσβύτης κατώκει ἐν Βαιθήλ· ἀλλὰ καὶ προφήτης ἄλλος πρεσβύτης κατώκει ἐν Βαιθήλ. Δηλοῖ δὲ προφήτην ὄντα, καὶ οὐ ψευδοπροφήτην, τὸ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν δι' αὐτοῦ προειπεῖν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ἐσόμενον πάθος, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τὸ πιστεῦσαι τοῖς περὶ τοῦ Ἰωσίου προῤῥηθεῖσι, καὶ τοῖς υἱέσιν ἐντείλασθαι, ὥστε αὐτὸν τελευτήσαντα ἐκείνου τῷ σώματι συνθάψαι. Οὗτος τῶν υἱέων ἀκούσας διηγουμένων τὰ περὶ τὸν τῶν δαμάλεων γεγενημένα βωμὸν, πρῶτον μὲν ἐπἐστρεψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐκπλαγεὶς τὰς θείας θαυματουργίας· εἶτα μεμαθηκώς διὰ ποίας ὁδοῦ τὴν πορείαν πεποίηται, ἐπέσαξε μὲν τὴν ὄνον, ἐξήνυσε δὲ τὴν ὁδὸν ὅτι τάχιστα. Κατέλαβε δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ δρυὸς σκιὰν καθεζόμενον· καὶ πυθόμενος ὅστις εἴη, καὶ μαθὼν τὸ ποθούμενον, ἱκέτευσεν ἀναστρέψαι, καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τροφῆς μεταλαχεῖν. Ἑκείνου δὲ πάλιν τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κελευθέντα εἰρηκότος, καὶ ὡς οὐχ οἷόν τε τὸν θεῖον παραβῆναι νόμον προσετάχθη γὰρ, μὴ τροφῆς, μὴ ποτοῦ μεταλαβεῖν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ γῇ ὑπολαβὼν ἔφη, Κἀγὼ προφήτης εἰμὶ ὡς σὺ, καὶ ἄγγελος ἐλάλησε πρός με ἐν λόγῳ Κυρίου λέγων, Ἐπίστρεψον αὐτὸν μετὰ σοῦ εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου, καὶ φαγέτω ἄρτον, καὶ πιέτω ὕδωρ. Εἶτα καὶ ὁ ἱστοριογράφος ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ ἐψεύσατο αὐτῷ. Τοῦτο ἔγωγε ἐν τούτοις ἡμαρτηκέναι τὸν πρεσβύτην φημὶ, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο μόνον ψευδοπροφήτην εἶναι, ὡς θείας φωνὰς διαπλάσαντα. Οὐ μὴν κακοηθείᾳ τινὶ χρήσασθαι ἡγοῦμαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τῇ τῆς εὐλογίας ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῷ ψεύδει καταχρῶσαι τοὺς λόγους. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀνέστρεψε, καὶ σιτίων μετέλαβεν, ἐγένετο, φησὶ, λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς τὸν προφήτην τὸν ἐπιστρέψαντα αὐτὸν, καὶ εἶπε πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν ἥκοντα ἐξ Ἰούδα Τάδε λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ· ᾿Ανθ' ὧν παρεπίκρανας τὸ ῥῆμα Κυρίου, καὶ οὐκ ἐφύλαξας τὴν ἐντολὴν, ἣν ἐνετείλατό σοι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, καὶ ἐπέστρεψας, καὶ ἔφαγες ἄρτον, καὶ ἔπιες ὕδωρ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐλάλησα πρὸς σὲ, λέγων, Μὴ φάγῃς ἄρτον, καὶ μὴ πίῃς ὕδωρ, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ τὸ σῶμά σου εἰς τὸν τάφον τῶν πατέρων σου. Τῆς θείας τοίνυν Γραφῆς, καὶ προφήτην αὐτὸν καλούσης, καὶ διδασκούσης ὡς δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν κατὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου ψῆφον ἐξενήνοχεν ὁ Θεὸς, τολμηρὸν οἶμαι ψευδοπροφήτην ὀνομάζειν αὐτόν. Τί δήποτε γὰρ αὐτὸν ὡς ἐκεῖνον οὐκ ἐκόλασεν ὁ Θεὸς, εἴπερ ἄρα καὶ ψευδοπροφήτην αὐτὸν ὄντα φαίην ἂν κἀγὼ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ψευδοπροφήτην, ὡς ἀληθείας φωνὰς διαπλάσαντα οὐ μὴν ὡς δαιμονίαν ᾔδει, καὶ κακοηθείᾳ κατὰ τοῦ θείου προφήτου χρησάμενον; ἴσως γὰρ καὶ τὸν σκοπὸν αὐτοῦ καθορῶν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τῷ ψεύδει συγγνώμην ἀπένειμεν. Ὁ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος εὐθὺς ἐκδημήσας περιέπεσε λέοντι. Καὶ ἀνεῖλε μὲν αὐτὸν τὸ θηρίον, μεταλαβεῖν δὲ τοῦ σώματος οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν· ἀλλ᾽ εἰστήκει, καὶ τὴν ὄνον καὶ τὸ σῶμα φυλάττων, ὥστε μηδὲν ἄλλο θηρίον ἢ πτηνὸν τολμῆσαι λυμήνασθαι αὐτό. Τούτου δὲ μηνυθέντος ἔδραμε πάλιν ὁ προφήτης. Δηλοῖ δὲ αὐτοῦ τὸ εὐσεβὲς καὶ τὰ ῥήματα. Εἶπε γὰρ, φησὶν, Ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Θεοῦ οὗτος, ὃς παρεπίκρανε τὸ ῥῆμα Κυρίου. Εἶτα δραμὼν εὖρε τοῦ μὲν προφήτου τὸ σῶμα νεκρὸν, ἀλώβητον δὲ τὴν ὄνον· τὸν λέοντα δὲ οἷόν τινα φύλακα παρεστῶτα· ὃς ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ἀφιγμένον ὑπεχώρησεν, ὡς οὐκέτι φυλακῆς δεομένου τοῦ σώματος. Ἔπειτα μετακομίσας, καὶ τῶν νομιζομένων ἀξιώσας, ἐνετείλατο τοῖς υἱέσι μιᾷ θήκῃ ἀμφότερα παραδοῦναι τὰ σώματα, ὡς τῆς θείας προῤῥήσεως δεξαμένης τὸ πέρας. Ἐκ δὲ τούτου τοῦ διηγήματος διδασκόμεθα, ὡς δυνατοὶ δυνατῶς ἐτασθήσονται. Οὐ γὰρ ἔδει τὸν τῆς θείας ἀκηκοότα φωνῆς ἀνθρωπίνῃ πιστεῦσαι τάναντία λεγούσῃ, ἀλλ᾽ ἀναμεῖναι τὸν προστεταχότα λῦσαι ὅπερ γενέσθαι προσέταξεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ οἶμαι καὶ εἰς βεβαίωσιν τῆς περὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου προῤῥήσεως τήνδε γενέσθαι τὴν τιμωρίαν. Οὐ γὰρ οἷόν τε ἦν λαθεῖν ἀνδρὸς τοσούτου διήγημα· τοῖς δὲ ἀκούουσιν ἱκανὸν ἦν τοῦτο δέος ἐνθεῖναι. Εἰ γὰρ τροφῆς μετάληψις παρὰ τὴν θείαν ἐντολὴν γενομένη, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἡδονῆς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἀπάτης γεγενημένη, τοσαύτην ἀνδρὶ δικαίῳ τιμωρίαν ἐπήνεγκεν, ὁποίαις περιπεσοῦνται κολάσεσιν οἱ τὸν μὲν πεποιηκότα καταλελοιπότες Θεὸν, τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀλόγων προσκυνοῦντες ἐνδάλματα; Τετίμηκε δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν ὁ Θεός. Ἐπέστησε γὰρ αὐτῷ φύλακα τὸν φονέα· ταύτῃ μὲν τιμῶν ὡς προφήτην, ἐκείνῃ δὲ κολάζων ὡς παραβάτην· δεδιττόμενος δὲ καὶ τοὺς τηνικάδε, καὶ τοὺς νῦν, ὥστε μηδὲ τῶν σμικρῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ καταφρονεῖν ἐντολῶν. Μηνύει δὲ τοῦ προφήτου τὸ πάθος τῶν νεκρῶν τὴν ἀνάστασιν. Ὁ γὰρ περιόντα μὲν ἐκδεδωκὼς τῷ θηρίῳ, τελευτήσαντα δὲ ἀξιώσας τιμῆς, καὶ τιμήσας οὐ τὴν ψυχὴν, ἀλλὰ τὸ σῶμα μόνον, δῆλον ὡς οὐ περιόψεται διαλυθὲν καὶ φθαρὲν, ἀλλ᾿ ἀναστήσει, καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ τὸ ὄργανον ἀποδώσει, δι' οὗ τὸν ποιητὴν τεθεράπευκεν. "Ανθρωπος μέντοι Θεοῦ οὐ πᾶς προφήτης ὠνόμασται, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ τελείαν τὴν ἀρετὴν κεκτημένοι, ὡς Μωσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας, καὶ εἴ τις ἐκείνοις παρόμοιος. Δεδήλωκε τοίνυν ἡ προσηγορία, ὡς τοῦ πρεσβύτου προφήτου πολλῷ τιμιώτερος ἦν.
Ei tēn heortēn tou Iouda epoiēsen Hieroboam en Baithēl, pōs ephē ho syngrapheus, En tę̄ heortē hēn eplasato apo kardias autou? Tę̄ pentekaidekatę̄ tou hebdomou mēnos epitelein eiōthasi kata ton nomon tēs skēnopēgias tēn heortēn; houtos de tę̄ pentekaidekatę̄ tou ogdoou mēnos tōn damaleōn epetelese tēn panēgyrin. 'All' oude houtōs pareiden auton planōmenon ho philanthrōpos Kyrios. ᾿Apesteile gar prophētēn, enteilamenos autǭ, mēden men pros ekeinon eipein, tǭ apsychǭ de thysiastēriǭ prosenenkein tēn apophasin Thysiastērion, thysiastērion, tade legei Kyrios; idou huios tiktetai tǭ oikǭ Dabid, Iōsias onoma autǭ, kai thysei epi se tous hiereas tōn hypsēlōn, kai tous thyontas epi se; kai osta anthrōpōn katakausei epi se. Eita didōsi peras tę̄ thaumatourgią, deiknys tōn eirēmenōn to apseudes; Idou gar, ephē, rhagēsetai to thysiastērion, kai ekchythēsetai ē piotēs hē ousa ep᾿ autǭ. ᾿All᾽ ho pamponēros ekeinos, deon ekplagēnai tou prophētou to thauma, kai deisai ton pepomphota, ekteinas tēn cheira syllēphthēnai ton prophētēn prosetaxen; all᾽ emeine to tēs ektaseōs echousa schēma hē cheir, tōn myōn kai tōn neurōn dialythentōn. Kai tou men bōmou to pathos auton ou kateplēxe to de tēs cheiros agan hēniase. Lian de hēlithios ōn, prophētēn hiketeusen aitēsai autǭ para tou pepomphotos, ou tēs paranomias tēn aphesin, alla tēs cheiros tēs xērantheisēs tēn iasin. Edeixe de kai ho prophētēs to hēmeron, kai ho Theos to philanthrōpon. Kai houtos gar ę̄tēse• kai ho Theos tēn iasin edōken. Ho de ge prophētēs phenakistheis aniarois periepesen; ho men gar basileus auton koinōnēsai hoi trapezēs axiōsas ouk epeisen. Ephē gar ton pepomphota prostetachenai, mē trophēs, mē potou metalabein en ekeinę̄ tę̄ gę̄. ᾿Allos de tis prophētēs, on tines pseudoprophētēn nomizousi, logois auton exapatēsas metalabein sitiōn anepeisen. Egō de tou Theou men kai ton allon prophētēn hypeilēpha; pseudesi de chrēsasthai logois pros ton anthrōpon tou Theou, ouch hina touton blapsę̄, all᾽ hina autos metalabę̄ tēs eulogias. Touto gar hē historia didaskei. Ou gar haplōs eipen, hoti prophētēs kai presbytēs katōkei en Baithēl; alla kai prophētēs allos presbytēs katōkei en Baithēl. Dēloi de prophētēn onta, kai ou pseudoprophētēn, to kai ton Theon di' autou proeipein tǭ anthrōpǭ tou Theou to esomenon pathos, kai pros toutois to pisteusai tois peri tou Iōsiou prorrhētheisi, kai tois huiesin enteilasthai, hōste auton teleutēsanta ekeinou tǭ sōmati synthapsai. Houtos tōn huieōn akousas diēgoumenōn ta peri ton tōn damaleōn gegenēmena bōmon, prōton men epestrepse to prosōpon autou ekplageis tas theias thaumatourgias; eita memathēkōs dia poias hodou tēn poreian pepoiētai, epesaxe men tēn onon, exēnyse de tēn hodon hoti tachista. Katelabe de auton hypo dryos skian kathezomenon; kai pythomenos hostis eiē, kai mathōn to pothoumenon, hiketeusen anastrepsai, kai syn autǭ trophēs metalachein. Hekeinou de palin ta para tou Theou keleuthenta eirēkotos, kai hōs ouch hoion te ton theion parabēnai nomon prosetachthē gar, mē trophēs, mē potou metalabein en ekeinę̄ tę̄ gę̄ hypolabōn ephē, Kagō prophētēs eimi hōs sy, kai angelos elalēse pros me en logǭ Kyriou legōn, Epistrepson auton meta sou eis ton oikon sou, kai phagetō arton, kai pietō hydōr. Eita kai ho historiographos epēgage; Kai epseusato autǭ. Touto egōge en toutois hēmartēkenai ton presbytēn phēmi, kai kata touto monon pseudoprophētēn einai, hōs theias phōnas diaplasanta. Ou mēn kakoētheią tini chrēsasthai hēgoumai ton anthrōpon, alla mallon tę̄ tēs eulogias epithymią tǭ pseudei katachrōsai tous logous. Epeidē de anestrepse, kai sitiōn metelaben, egeneto, phēsi, logos Kyriou pros ton prophētēn ton epistrepsanta auton, kai eipe pros ton anthrōpon tou Theou ton hēkonta ex Iouda Tade legei Kyrios pantokratōr; ᾿Anth' hōn parepikranas to rhēma Kyriou, kai ouk ephylaxas tēn entolēn, hēn eneteilato soi Kyrios ho Theos sou, kai epestrepsas, kai ephages arton, kai epies hydōr en tǭ topǭ toutǭ, en hǭ elalēsa pros se, legōn, Mē phagę̄s arton, kai mē pię̄s hydōr, ou mē eiselthę̄ to sōma sou eis ton taphon tōn paterōn sou. Tēs theias toinyn Graphēs, kai prophētēn auton kalousēs, kai didaskousēs hōs di' autou tēn kata tou heterou psēphon exenēnochen ho Theos, tolmēron oimai pseudoprophētēn onomazein auton. Ti dēpote gar auton hōs ekeinon ouk ekolasen ho Theos, eiper ara kai pseudoprophētēn auton onta phaiēn an kagō ton anthrōpon pseudoprophētēn, hōs alētheias phōnas diaplasanta ou mēn hōs daimonian ę̄dei, kai kakoētheią kata tou theiou prophētou chrēsamenon? isōs gar kai ton skopon autou kathorōn ho Theos, kai tǭ pseudei syngnōmēn apeneimen. Ho de tou Theou anthrōpos euthys ekdēmēsas periepese leonti. Kai aneile men auton to thērion, metalabein de tou sōmatos ouk etolmēsen; all᾽ eistēkei, kai tēn onon kai to sōma phylattōn, hōste mēden allo thērion ē ptēnon tolmēsai lymēnasthai auto. Toutou de mēnythentos edrame palin ho prophētēs. Dēloi de autou to eusebes kai ta rhēmata. Eipe gar, phēsin, Ho anthrōpos tou Theou houtos, hos parepikrane to rhēma Kyriou. Eita dramōn eure tou men prophētou to sōma nekron, alōbēton de tēn onon; ton leonta de hoion tina phylaka parestōta; hos idōn auton aphigmenon hypechōrēsen, hōs ouketi phylakēs deomenou tou sōmatos. Epeita metakomisas, kai tōn nomizomenōn axiōsas, eneteilato tois huiesi mią thēkę̄ amphotera paradounai ta sōmata, hōs tēs theias prorrhēseōs dexamenēs to peras. Ek de toutou tou diēgēmatos didaskometha, hōs dynatoi dynatōs etasthēsontai. Ou gar edei ton tēs theias akēkoota phōnēs anthrōpinę̄ pisteusai tanantia legousę̄, all᾽ anameinai ton prostetachota lysai hoper genesthai prosetaxen. Egō de oimai kai eis bebaiōsin tēs peri tou thysiastēriou prorrhēseōs tēnde genesthai tēn timōrian. Ou gar hoion te ēn lathein andros tosoutou diēgēma; tois de akouousin hikanon ēn touto deos entheinai. Ei gar trophēs metalēpsis para tēn theian entolēn genomenē, kai ouk ex hēdonēs, all᾽ ex apatēs gegenēmenē, tosautēn andri dikaiǭ timōrian epēnenken, hopoiais peripesountai kolasesin hoi ton men pepoiēkota kataleloipotes Theon, ta de tōn alogōn proskynountes endalmata? Tetimēke de auton kai meta tēn teleutēn ho Theos. Epestēse gar autǭ phylaka ton phonea; tautę̄ men timōn hōs prophētēn, ekeinę̄ de kolazōn hōs parabatēn; dedittomenos de kai tous tēnikade, kai tous nyn, hōste mēde tōn smikrōn tou Theou kataphronein entolōn. Mēnyei de tou prophētou to pathos tōn nekrōn tēn anastasin. Ho gar perionta men ekdedōkōs tǭ thēriǭ, teleutēsanta de axiōsas timēs, kai timēsas ou tēn psychēn, alla to sōma monon, dēlon hōs ou periopsetai dialythen kai phtharen, all᾿ anastēsei, kai tę̄ psychę̄ to organon apodōsei, di' hou ton poiētēn tetherapeuken. "Anthrōpos mentoi Theou ou pas prophētēs ōnomastai, all᾽ hoi teleian tēn aretēn kektēmenoi, hōs Mōsēs kai Ēlias, kai ei tis ekeinois paromoios. Dedēlōke toinyn hē prosēgoria, hōs tou presbytou prophētou pollǭ timiōteros ēn.
If Jeroboam held the feast of Judah at Bethel, how could the writer say “at the feast which he devised from his own heart”? According to the law they used to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles on the fifteenth of the seventh month; but he held the festival of the heifers on the fifteenth of the eighth month. Even so the Lord who loves humankind did not overlook him in his error. He sent a prophet, commanding him to say nothing to Jeroboam, but to deliver the sentence to the lifeless altar: “Altar, altar, thus says the Lord: Behold, a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who sacrifice on you, and he will burn human bones on you.” Then he gives a completion through a miracle, showing the truth of what was said: “For behold,” he said, “the altar will be split, and the fat that is on it will be poured out.” But that utterly wicked man, when he ought to have been astounded at the prophet's miracle and to have feared the one who sent him, stretched out his hand and ordered the prophet to be seized; but the hand remained in the posture of stretching out, its muscles and sinews loosened. The fate of the altar did not dismay him, but that of his hand grieved him greatly. Being very foolish, he begged the prophet to ask for him from the one who had sent him, not forgiveness of his lawlessness, but the healing of his withered hand. Both the prophet showed his gentleness and God his love for humankind: the prophet asked, and God gave the healing. But the prophet, being deceived, fell into misfortune. The king invited him to share his table but could not persuade him; for he said that the one who sent him had commanded him to take neither food nor drink in that land. But another prophet, whom some think a false prophet, deceived him with words and persuaded him to take food. I suppose that the other too was a prophet of God, but used false words to the man of God, not to harm him but to share in his blessing himself. The history teaches this; for it did not simply say that a prophet and old man lived in Bethel, but “and another old prophet lived in Bethel.” That he was a prophet and not a false prophet is shown by God's foretelling through him to the man of God the suffering that would come; and besides, by his believing the prophecies about Josiah and commanding his sons to bury him, when he died, with the other's body. Hearing his sons tell what had happened at the altar of the heifers, he first turned his face, astounded at the divine miracles; then, learning by which road the other had gone, he saddled his donkey and covered the way as fast as possible. He found him sitting in the shade of an oak; and asking who he was, and learning what he wanted, he begged him to return and share food with him. When the other again stated God's commands, and that it was not possible to transgress the divine law (for he had been commanded to take neither food nor drink in that land), he answered, “I too am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with you to your house, and let him eat bread and drink water.” Then the historian added, “And he lied to him.” In this I say the old man sinned, and in this alone was a false prophet, as having fabricated divine words. I do not think the man acted from any malice, but rather misused words with a lie out of desire for the blessing. When he had returned and eaten, “the word of the Lord came,” it says, “to the prophet who had brought him back, and he said to the man of God who had come from Judah, Thus says the Lord Almighty: Because you have rebelled against the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, but returned and ate bread and drank water in this place, of which I said to you, Eat no bread and drink no water, your body shall not come into the tomb of your fathers.” Since the divine Scripture both calls him a prophet and teaches that God pronounced the sentence against the other through him, I think it rash to call him a false prophet. For why did God not punish him as he did the other, if indeed he was a false prophet? I too would call the man a false prophet, as one who fabricated divine words, but not as … using malice against the divine prophet; for perhaps God, seeing his purpose, granted pardon for the lie. The man of God, as soon as he set out, met a lion. The beast killed him but did not dare to touch the body; it stood guarding both the donkey and the body, so that no other beast or bird dared to harm it. When this was reported, the prophet ran out again. His words too show his piety: “It is the man of God,” he says, “who rebelled against the word of the Lord.” Then, running, he found the prophet's body dead, the donkey unharmed, and the lion standing by like a guard; and when it saw him arrive it withdrew, since the body no longer needed guarding. Then he brought the body back and gave it the customary rites, and commanded his sons to lay both bodies in one tomb, since the divine prophecy would be fulfilled. From this story we are taught that “the mighty will be mightily tested.” For one who had heard the divine voice ought not to have believed a human voice saying the opposite, but to have waited for the one who had commanded to undo what he had commanded. I think this punishment also happened to confirm the prophecy about the altar. For the story of so great a man could not be hidden, and it was enough to put fear into those who heard it. For if taking food against the divine command, done not from pleasure but from deception, brought such a punishment on a righteous man, into what punishments will they fall who have forsaken the God who made them and worship the images of irrational beasts? God honored him even after death; for he set his slayer as his guard, in this way honoring him as a prophet, in that way punishing him as a transgressor, and frightening both the people of that time and those of now, so that they would not despise even the small commandments of God. The prophet's fate also points to the resurrection of the dead. For the one who gave him over to the beast while he lived but granted him honor when dead, and honored not the soul but the body alone, clearly will not overlook it when dissolved and corrupted, but will raise it and give back to the soul the instrument through which it served the Maker. Not every prophet is called a man of God, but those who possessed perfect virtue, such as Moses and Elijah and anyone like them. So the title showed that he was far more honorable than the old prophet.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
1 Kgs 12:32 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 12:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Lev 23:34 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:2 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:8 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:11 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:18 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:20 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:21 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:22 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:24 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:26 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:28 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:31 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 23:18 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jeroboam's self-made feast was condemned by the man of God from Judah, who was later killed by a lion for disobeying God's command after being deceived by the old prophet of Bethel, whom Theodoret regards as a true prophet who lied out of desire for a blessing.
- 1 Kgs 12:32–33; 13:1–32 (LXX; quotations 13:2, 3, 11, 18, 20–22, 26). “The mighty will be mightily tested”: Wis 6:6. Theodoret's view of the old prophet is his own; translated as written. The sentence beginning “I too would call the man a false prophet” is garbled in the printed text (it seems to combine two forms of the same remark); translated by sense, with a gap marked “…”. Displaced words of the quotation of 13:20 (“the word of the Lord to the prophet who had brought him back”), printed earlier inside the sentence on the divine law, are restored to their place by logged corrections.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR letter error; displaced words restored to their place; displaced words, restored below to their place in the quotation of 13:20; end of the word displaced by the OCR; stray footnote marks; stray letter; stray mark; stray marks; word split by the OCR): ἱκέτευσεν ε αἰτῆσαι → ἱκέτευσεν αἰτῆσαι; προστεταχέναι *, μὴ τροφῆς, μὴ ποτοῦ μεταλαβεῖν ὁ ἐν → προστεταχέναι, μὴ τροφῆς, μὴ ποτοῦ μεταλαβεῖν ἐν; ἀνέπεισεν ὁ. → ἀνέπεισεν.; τοῦτον” βλάψῃ → τοῦτον βλάψῃ; πυθόμε νος → πυθόμενος; μεταλαχεῖν ". → μεταλαχεῖν.; κελευθέντα " εἰρηκότος → κελευθέντα εἰρηκότος; παραβῆναι ( λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς τὸν προφήτην τὸν ἐπιστρέψαντα νόμον → παραβῆναι νόμον; ἐγένετο, φησὶ, τωρ αὐτὸν → ἐγένετο, φησὶ, λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς τὸν προφήτην τὸν ἐπιστρέψαντα αὐτὸν; Κύριος παντοκρά· → Κύριος παντοκράτωρ·; καλούσης **, → καλούσης,; τὸν σκεπὸν αὐτοῦ → τὸν σκοπὸν αὐτοῦ; ἰκδημήσας → ἐκδημήσας; ἀνδρὶ δικαίῳ σ τιμωρίαν → ἀνδρὶ δικαίῳ τιμωρίαν.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 6:6 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.43 (PG 80 80:709; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-43). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-43
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-43) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.44PG 80 80:713
Πῶς νοητέον τό· ῾Ο βουλόμενος ἐπλήρου τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ; Τὸ ἐπαγόμενον δηλοῖ· Καὶ ἐγένετο ἱερεὺς τῶν ὑψηλῶν· τουτέστιν ἱεράτευε, καὶ ταῖς χερσὶ τὸ θυμίαμα προσέφερεν.
Pōs noēteon to; ῾O boulomenos eplērou tēn cheira autou? To epagomenon dēloi; Kai egeneto hiereus tōn hypsēlōn; toutestin hierateue, kai tais chersi to thymiama prosepheren.
How should “Whoever wished, he filled his hand” be understood? What follows shows it: “And he became a priest of the high places,” that is, he served as priest and offered the incense with his hands.
1 Kgs 13:33 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “Filling the hand” means consecrating someone to offer sacrifices as a priest.
- 1 Kgs 13:33. This short question holds one question and answer.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letter; stray marks): βουλόμενος 3* ἐπλήρου → βουλόμενος ἐπλήρου; αὐτοῦ; ι Τὸ → αὐτοῦ; Τὸ.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.44 (PG 80 80:713; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-44). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-44
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-44) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.45PG 80 80:715
Προειδὼς ὁ Θεὸς ὡς ἀσεβήσει ὁ λαὸς, τί δήποτε γενέσθαι τὴν διαίρεσιν συνεχώρησεν; Τί γὰρ τὸν Ἰούδαν καὶ τὸν Βενιαμὶν ὤνησε τὸ τὸν θεῖον ἔχειν νεών; Τὴν γὰρ αὐτὴν καὶ οὗτοι παρανομίαν ἐτόλμων· Ὠκοδόμησαν γὰρ, φησὶν, αὐτοῖς ὑψηλὰ καὶ στήλας, καὶ ἄλση, ἐπὶ πάντα βουνὸν ὑψηλὸν, καὶ ὑποκάτω παντὸς ξύλου ἀλσώδους Καὶ σύνδεσμος ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ γῇ. Τὸν δὲ σύνδεσμον ἀντὶ τῆς ἀποστάσεως τέθεικε. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ Ἰεζάβελ τοῦ Ἰωρὰμ μεμαθηκυῖα τὴν τελευτὴν, καὶ τὸν Ἰοὺ τῆς βασιλείας τὴν χειροτονίαν δεξάμενον, ἐβόησε, Σύνδεσμος σύνδεσμος, τουτέστιν, ἀποστασία καὶ τυραννίς. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς δηλοῖ· Καὶ ἐποίησαν ἀπὸ πάντων βδελυγμάτων τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὧν ἐξώρισε Κύριος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραηλ. Οὐ τοίνυν διὰ τὴν τῆς βασιλείας διαίρεσιν ἐξώκειλαν εἰς ἀσέβειαν αἱ δέκα φυλαὶ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν οἰκείαν παρανομίαν. Αὐτίκα γοῦν μείζους ποιοῦνται τῆς Ἰούδα φυλῆς οἱ προφῆται κατηγορίας. Καὶ γὰρ Ὡσηὲ πόρνην μὲν προσετάχθη λαβεῖν, εἰς ἔλεγχον τῆς προφανοῦς ἀσεβείας τῶν δέκα φυλῶν· προφανής γὰρ ἡ τῆς πόρνης ἀκολασία· μοιχεύτριαν δὲ εἰς τύπον τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ὅτι τῷ Θεῷ διὰ τοῦ ναοῦ συνῆφθαι δοκοῦσα, λάθρα τοῖς εἰδώλοις ἐλάτρευεν. Ἱερεμίας δὲ ὁ προφήτης φησίν· Ἐδικαίωσεν αὐτὴν ἡ ἀποστροφὴ Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀσυνθέτου Ἰούδα. Ἰεζεκιήλ δὲ ὁ προφήτης, οὐ τὴν Σαμάρειαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ Σόδομα τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ ἐκάλεσεν ἀδελφήν. ᾿Αποστάντες τῆς εὐσεβείας τῆς θείας ἐγυμνώθησαν προμηθείας. Σουσακεὶμ γὰρ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ὁ βασιλεὺς πολλὰς μὲν τῶν Ἰουδαίων εἶλε πόλεις, ὡς ἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἐδίδαξε βίβλος· ἐπέβη δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, καὶ οὐ μόνον τοὺς βασιλικοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς θείους ἐσύλησε θησαυρούς. Ἔλαβε δὲ καὶ τὰ ὅπλα τὰ χρυσᾶ, καὶ ἃ Δαβὶδ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπὸ τῶν Σύρων εἰλήφει, καὶ ἃ ὁ Σολομὼν ἐπεποιήκει.
Proeidōs ho Theos hōs asebēsei ho laos, ti dēpote genesthai tēn diairesin synechōrēsen? Ti gar ton Ioudan kai ton Beniamin ōnēse to ton theion echein neōn? Tēn gar autēn kai houtoi paranomian etolmōn; Ōkodomēsan gar, phēsin, autois hypsēla kai stēlas, kai alsē, epi panta bounon hypsēlon, kai hypokatō pantos xylou alsōdous Kai syndesmos egeneto en tę̄ gę̄. Ton de syndesmon anti tēs apostaseōs tetheike. Kai gar hē Iezabel tou Iōram memathēkuia tēn teleutēn, kai ton Iou tēs basileias tēn cheirotonian dexamenon, eboēse, Syndesmos syndesmos, toutestin, apostasia kai tyrannis. Touto de kai ta hexēs dēloi; Kai epoiēsan apo pantōn bdelygmatōn tōn ethnōn, hōn exōrise Kyrios apo prosōpou tōn huiōn Israēl. Ou toinyn dia tēn tēs basileias diairesin exōkeilan eis asebeian hai deka phylai, alla dia tēn oikeian paranomian. Autika goun meizous poiountai tēs Iouda phylēs hoi prophētai katēgorias. Kai gar Hōsēe pornēn men prosetachthē labein, eis elenchon tēs prophanous asebeias tōn deka phylōn; prophanēs gar hē tēs pornēs akolasia; moicheutrian de eis typon tēs Ioudaias, hoti tǭ Theǭ dia tou naou synēphthai dokousa, lathra tois eidōlois elatreuen. Hieremias de ho prophētēs phēsin; Edikaiōsen autēn hē apostrophē Israēl apo tēs asynthetou Iouda. Iezekiēl de ho prophētēs, ou tēn Samareian monon, alla kai ta Sodoma tēs Hierousalēm ekalesen adelphēn. ᾿Apostantes tēs eusebeias tēs theias egymnōthēsan promētheias. Sousakeim gar tōn Aigyptiōn ho basileus pollas men tōn Ioudaiōn eile poleis, hōs hē tōn Paraleipomenōn edidaxe biblos; epebē de kai tēs Hierousalēm, kai ou monon tous basilikous, alla kai tous theious esylēse thēsaurous. Elabe de kai ta hopla ta chrysa, kai ha Dabid ho basileus apo tōn Syrōn eilēphei, kai ha ho Solomōn epepoiēkei.
Since God foreknew that the people would act impiously, why did he allow the division to take place? What good did it do Judah and Benjamin to have the divine temple? For they too dared the same lawlessness: “For they built themselves,” it says, “high places and pillars and groves on every high hill and under every shady tree; and there was a conspiracy in the land.” It used “conspiracy” for “apostasy.” For Jezebel too, learning of Joram's death and that Jehu had received appointment to the kingdom, cried out, “Conspiracy, conspiracy,” that is, apostasy and usurpation. What follows shows this too: “And they did according to all the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the sons of Israel.” So the ten tribes did not run aground on impiety because of the division of the kingdom, but because of their own lawlessness. Indeed the prophets bring heavier charges against the tribe of Judah. Hosea was commanded to take a harlot, to expose the open impiety of the ten tribes (for the harlot's licentiousness is open), but an adulteress as a type of Judea, because, while seeming to be joined to God through the temple, she secretly served the idols. Jeremiah the prophet says, “Apostate Israel has justified herself compared with faithless Judah.” And Ezekiel the prophet called not only Samaria but also Sodom the sister of Jerusalem. Having departed from piety, they were stripped of divine providence. For Shishak king of the Egyptians took many cities of the Jews, as the book of Chronicles taught; he also came up against Jerusalem, and plundered not only the royal treasures but also the divine ones. He also took the golden shields, both those King David had taken from the Syrians and those Solomon had made.
1 Kgs 14:22 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 14:23 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 14:24 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 9:23 (allusion, high confidence) · Hos 1:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Hos 3:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Jer 3:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Ezek 16:46 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Chr 12:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 14:25 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 14:26 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Sam 8:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The division did not cause the apostasy, for Judah, which kept the temple, sinned as much or more, as the prophets testify; so God let Shishak plunder Jerusalem.
- 1 Kgs 14:22–26 (LXX; quotations 14:23–24); 2 Kgs 9:23 (it is Joram, not Jezebel, who cries out in the text; Theodoret's attribution is translated as written); Hos 1:2; 3:1; Jer 3:11; Ezek 16:46; 2 Chr 12:2–9; 2 Sam 8:7. Theodoret's contrast between the harlot and the adulteress is his own reading; translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR accent error; OCR letter error; stray footnote marks; stray marks; word split by the OCR): αὐτοῖς ἐ8 ὑψηλὰ → αὐτοῖς ὑψηλὰ; τῶν ἐθνῶν, ων ἐξώρισε → τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὧν ἐξώρισε; τῶν δέκα φυλῶν **προφανής → τῶν δέκα φυλῶν· προφανής; Σαμάρειαν μόνον **, → Σαμάρειαν μόνον,; βε βλος → βίβλος; καὶ ὁ ὁ Σολομὼν → καὶ ἃ ὁ Σολομὼν.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.45 (PG 80 80:715; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-45). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-45
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-45) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.46PG 80 80:715
Τί ἐστιν· ᾿Απηρείδοντο αὐτὰ εἰς τὸ Θεκουὲ τῶν παρατρεχόντων; Ἐν μὲν τῇ τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν ὀνομάτων ἑρμηνεία Θεκουέ, κρουσμὸς καὶ σαλπισμὸς κείμενον εὗρον. Ἡ δὲ τῶν Παραλειπομένων βίβλος οὕτω ταῦτα διδάσκει - Καὶ ἐποίησε Ῥοβοὰμ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀντ᾿ αὐτῶν θυρεοὺς χαλκοῦς, καὶ κατέστησεν ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἀρχόντων τῶν παρατρεχόντων, τῶν φυλασσόντων τὰς θύρας τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ βασιλέως. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἀπὸ ἱκανοῦ, ἐν τῷ εἰσπορεύεσθαι τὸν βασιλέα εἰς οἶκον Κυρίου, εἰσεπορεύοντο οἱ φυλάσσοντες, καὶ οἱ παρατρέχοντες· καὶ οἱ ἐπιστρέφοντες εἰς ἀπάντησιν τῶν παρατρεχόντων, ἐλάμβανον τοὺς θυρεοὺς, καὶ ἀποκαθίστων εἰς τὴν τάξιν τῶν παρατρεχόντων.» Ἐδίδοτο, φησί, τοῖς δορυφόροις καὶ ἀσπιδηφόροις τοῖς περὶ τὸν βασιλέα, οἳ παρὰ τὰς θύρας τῶν βασιλείων ἑστῶτες τὰς εἰσόδους ἐφρούρουν. Προϊόντος δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως, οἱ μὲν προηγοῦντο, οἱ δὲ παρέτρεχον. Ηνίκα δὲ εἰς τὸν ναὸν παρεγένετο, ἀπήντων οἱ ἐπιστρέφοντες, ἀντὶ τοῦ, οἱ τοῦ ναοῦ φύλακες, καὶ ἐδέχοντο ταῦτα παρ᾿ αὐτῶν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ταῦτα κατέχοντες πρὸ τῆς πύλης εἰστήκεισαν τοῦ νεὼ, ἵνα τὰ μὲν ὅπλα μείνῃ πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν, οἱ δὲ ταῦτα κομίζοντες σὺν τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸν Θεὸν προσκυνήσωσιν. Εἰκὸς δὲ καὶ οἶκον γενέσθαι πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν, ὥστε τοῦ βασιλέως ἀφικνουμένου, τοὺς ὁπλοφόρους ἐκεῖ τὰ ὅπλα ἀποτίθεσθαι.
Ti estin; ᾿Apēreidonto auta eis to Thekoue tōn paratrechontōn? En men tę̄ tōn Hebraïkōn onomatōn hermēneia Thekoue, krousmos kai salpismos keimenon heuron. Hē de tōn Paraleipomenōn biblos houtō tauta didaskei - Kai epoiēse Rhoboam ho basileus ant᾿ autōn thyreous chalkous, kai katestēsen epi cheiras archontōn tōn paratrechontōn, tōn phylassontōn tas thyras tou oikou tou basileōs. Kai egeneto apo hikanou, en tǭ eisporeuesthai ton basilea eis oikon Kyriou, eiseporeuonto hoi phylassontes, kai hoi paratrechontes; kai hoi epistrephontes eis apantēsin tōn paratrechontōn, elambanon tous thyreous, kai apokathistōn eis tēn taxin tōn paratrechontōn.» Edidoto, phēsi, tois doryphorois kai aspidēphorois tois peri ton basilea, hoi para tas thyras tōn basileiōn hestōtes tas eisodous ephrouroun. Proïontos de tou basileōs, hoi men proēgounto, hoi de paretrechon. Ēnika de eis ton naon paregeneto, apēntōn hoi epistrephontes, anti tou, hoi tou naou phylakes, kai edechonto tauta par᾿ autōn, kai autoi tauta katechontes pro tēs pylēs eistēkeisan tou neō, hina ta men hopla meinę̄ pro tōn thyrōn, hoi de tauta komizontes syn tǭ basilei ton Theon proskynēsōsin. Eikos de kai oikon genesthai pro tōn thyrōn, hōste tou basileōs aphiknoumenou, tous hoplophorous ekei ta hopla apotithesthai.
What does “They brought them back to the Thekoue of the runners” mean? In the interpretation of Hebrew names I found Thekoue explained as “beating” and “trumpet-blast.” The book of Chronicles teaches this as follows: “And King Rehoboam made bronze shields in place of them, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the runners who guarded the door of the king's house. And whenever the king went into the house of the Lord, the guards and the runners went in; and those who returned to meet the runners took the shields and put them back in the place of the runners.” They were given, he says, to the spearmen and shield-bearers around the king, who stood at the doors of the palace guarding the entrances. When the king went out, some went before and others ran beside him. When he reached the temple, those who returned, that is, the guards of the temple, met them and received the shields from them, and they themselves, holding them, stood before the gate of the temple, so that the weapons would remain before the doors while those who carried them worshiped God with the king. It is likely that there was also a house before the doors, so that when the king arrived the armed men could lay down their weapons there.
1 Kgs 14:27 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 14:28 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Chr 12:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Chr 12:11 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Rehoboam's bronze shields were carried by the royal guard and left at the temple door when the king went in to worship.
- 1 Kgs 14:27–28 (LXX “Thekoue”); 2 Chr 12:10–11 (quoted). Stray words printed inside the quotation (“of the twelve tribes … Israel”) are removed by a logged correction. The staging notes that the OCR read the question number as 45.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray footnote marks; stray letters; stray words printed inside the quotation): ἀντ᾿ τῶν δώδεκα φυλῶν. αὐτῆς) Ἰσραήλ. αὐτῶν θυρεοὺς → ἀντ᾿ αὐτῶν θυρεοὺς; τὸν βασιλέα **, → τὸν βασιλέα,; γενέσθαι δι πρὸ → γενέσθαι πρὸ.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.46 (PG 80 80:715; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-46). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-46
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-46) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.47PG 80 80:717
Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, ὅτι - Διὰ Δαβὶδ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς κατάλειμμα, ἵνα στήσῃ τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ μετ᾿ αὐτόν; Διηγησάμενος καὶ τοῦ ῾Ῥοβοὰμ καὶ τοῦ ᾿Αβιᾶ τὴν ἀσέβειαν, τοῖσδε τοῖς λόγοις ἐχρήσατο, διδάσκων ὡς διὰ τὸν πρόγονον μέχρι πολλοῦ τῶν ἀπογόνων τὴν βασιλείαν ἐφύλαξεν. Εἶτα ἐπαινέσας τὴν τοῦ Δαβὶδ ἀρετὴν, τῆς μιᾶς ἁμαρτίας ἐμνήσθη. Ἐποίησε γὰρ, φησί, Δαβίδ, τὸ εὐθὲς ἐνώπιον Κυρίου, καὶ οὐκ ἐξέκλινεν ἀπὸ πάντων ὧν ἐνετείλατο αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, ἐκτὸς ἐν ῥήματι Οὐρίου τοῦ Χετθαίου Τοῦ δὲ 'Αβιᾶ τὰ πρῶτα ἐπήνεσε τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ βίβλος• τῶν δὲ τελευταίων ὁμοίως καὶ αὐτὴ κατηγόρησε. Σαφέστερον δὲ ταῦτα δηλώσομεν ἐκείνην ἑρμηνεύοντες, σὺν Θεῷ φάναι, τὴν βίβλον. Τοῦ δὲ ᾿Ασᾶ τὰ πρῶτα τῆς βασιλείας ἡ τῶν Βασιλειῶν ἐπήνεσε βίβλος. Ἐποίησε γὰρ, φησὶν, ᾿Ασὰ τὸ εὐθὲς ἐνώπιον Κυρίου, ὡς ὁ Δαβὶδ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀφεῖλε τὰς στήλας ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐξῆρε πάντα τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα, ἃ ἐποίησαν οἱ πατέρες αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὴν ῎Ανναν τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ μετέστη τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἡγουμένην, καθότι ἐποίησε σύνοδον ἐν τῷ ἄλσει αὐτῆς· καὶ ἐξέκοψεν αὐτὰ Ασὰ, καὶ πάσας τὰς καταδύσεις αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐνέπρησεν ἐν πυρὶ ἐν τῷ χειμάῤῥῳ κεδρῶν. Τὰ δὲ ὑψηλὰ οὐκ ἐξῆρε. Πάλιν ἐνταῦθα δεδήλωκεν, ὡς τὰ μὲν τῶν εἰδώλων τεμένη κατέλυσε, καὶ πρόῤῥιζα τὰ ἄλση ἐξέκοψε τὰ δὲ τῷ Θεῷ ἐν τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς ἀνακείμενα θυσιαστήρια καταλέλοιπε. Καὶ τοῦτο, τῆς θείας χάριτος συνεργούσης, σαφέστερον ἀποδείξομεν ἑρμηνεύοντες τὸ κατὰ τὸν Ἐζεκίαν διήγημα. Ἔδειξε μέντοι καὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Θεοῦ ζῆλον, καὶ τὴν μητέρα τῆς ἐξουσίας γυμνώσας, διὰ τὴν σύνοδον καὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν, ἣν ἐπετέλεσεν ἐν τῷ ἄλσει, καὶ αὐτὸ ἐκκόψας, καὶ πάντας τοὺς εἰδωλικοὺς αὐτῆς καταλύσας τόπους, καὶ πυρὶ παραδούς. Προσέθηκε δὲ, ὅτι καὶ τοὺς κίονας, οὓς καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἐξ ὕλης ἀργύρου κατεσκεύασε καὶ χρυσοῦ, τῶν βασιλείων ἐξενεγκὼν ἀνέθηκε τῷ Δεσπότῃ Θεῷ· καὶ ἄλλον πλεῖστον καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ χρυσὸν, ἐπίσημόν τε καὶ ἄσημον, καὶ σκεύη ἱερὰ καὶ πολύτιμα· ἀτελῆ δὲ αὐτὸν ὅμως ὠνόμασεν. Ἔφη γάρ· Πλὴν ἡ καρδία ᾿Ασὰ οὐκ ἦν τελεία μετὰ Κυρίου πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο σαφέστερον ἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἱστορία διδάσκει. Πιστῶς δὲ προσευξάμενος, τὰς ἑκατὸν τῶν Αἰθιόπων κατηγωνίσατο μυριάδας, καὶ ἄρδην κατηκόντισεν ἅπαντας. Βαασὰ δὲ τοῦ τῶν δέκα φυλῶν βασιλέως ἐπιθεμένου, καὶ τὴν Ῥαμὰ ἐπιτειχίσαι πειραθέντος, καταλιπὼν τὸν Θεὸν, τὴν τῶν Σύρων ἠσπάσατο συμμαχίαν.
Pōs noēteon to, hoti - Dia Dabid edōken autǭ ho Theos kataleimma, hina stēsę̄ ta tekna autou met᾿ auton? Diēgēsamenos kai tou ῾Rhoboam kai tou ᾿Abia tēn asebeian, toisde tois logois echrēsato, didaskōn hōs dia ton progonon mechri pollou tōn apogonōn tēn basileian ephylaxen. Eita epainesas tēn tou Dabid aretēn, tēs mias hamartias emnēsthē. Epoiēse gar, phēsi, Dabid, to euthes enōpion Kyriou, kai ouk exeklinen apo pantōn hōn eneteilato autǭ pasas tas hēmeras tēs zōēs autou, ektos en rhēmati Ouriou tou Chetthaiou Tou de 'Abia ta prōta epēnese tōn Paraleipomenōn hē biblos• tōn de teleutaiōn homoiōs kai autē katēgorēse. Saphesteron de tauta dēlōsomen ekeinēn hermēneuontes, syn Theǭ phanai, tēn biblon. Tou de ᾿Asa ta prōta tēs basileias hē tōn Basileiōn epēnese biblos. Epoiēse gar, phēsin, ᾿Asa to euthes enōpion Kyriou, hōs ho Dabid ho patēr autou; kai apheile tas stēlas apo tēs gēs, kai exēre panta ta epitēdeumata, ha epoiēsan hoi pateres autou, kai tēn ᾿Annan tēn mētera autou metestē tou mē einai hēgoumenēn, kathoti epoiēse synodon en tǭ alsei autēs; kai exekopsen auta Asa, kai pasas tas katadyseis autēs, kai eneprēsen en pyri en tǭ cheimarrhǭ kedrōn. Ta de hypsēla ouk exēre. Palin entautha dedēlōken, hōs ta men tōn eidōlōn temenē katelyse, kai prorrhiza ta alsē exekopse ta de tǭ Theǭ en tois hypsēlois anakeimena thysiastēria kataleloipe. Kai touto, tēs theias charitos synergousēs, saphesteron apodeixomen hermēneuontes to kata ton Ezekian diēgēma. Edeixe mentoi kai ton hyper tou Theou zēlon, kai tēn mētera tēs exousias gymnōsas, dia tēn synodon kai tēn heortēn, hēn epetelesen en tǭ alsei, kai auto ekkopsas, kai pantas tous eidōlikous autēs katalysas topous, kai pyri paradous. Prosethēke de, hoti kai tous kionas, hous kai autos kai ho patēr autou ex hylēs argyrou kateskeuase kai chrysou, tōn basileiōn exenenkōn anethēke tǭ Despotę̄ Theǭ; kai allon pleiston kai argyron kai chryson, episēmon te kai asēmon, kai skeuē hiera kai polytima; atelē de auton homōs ōnomasen. Ephē gar; Plēn hē kardia ᾿Asa ouk ēn teleia meta Kyriou pasas tas hēmeras autou. Kai touto saphesteron hē tōn Paraleipomenōn historia didaskei. Pistōs de proseuxamenos, tas hekaton tōn Aithiopōn katēgōnisato myriadas, kai ardēn katēkontisen hapantas. Baasa de tou tōn deka phylōn basileōs epithemenou, kai tēn Rhama epiteichisai peirathentos, katalipōn ton Theon, tēn tōn Syrōn ēspasato symmachian.
How should “For David's sake God gave him a remnant, to establish his children after him” be understood? Having narrated the impiety of Rehoboam and Abijah, he used these words, teaching that for the sake of their forefather he preserved the kingdom of the descendants for a long time. Then, having praised David's virtue, he mentioned his one sin: “For David,” it says, “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and did not turn aside from anything he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” The book of Chronicles praised Abijah's first deeds, but likewise accused his last ones. We shall show this more clearly, God willing, when we interpret that book. The book of Kingdoms praised the first part of Asa's reign: “For Asa,” it says, “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father; and he removed the pillars from the land, and took away all the practices his fathers had done; and he removed Anna his mother from being queen, because she had made an assembly in her grove; and Asa cut down her images, and all her hiding places, and burned them with fire in the brook Kidron. But the high places he did not remove.” Here again it showed that he destroyed the precincts of the idols and cut down the groves root and branch, but left the altars dedicated to God on the high places. We shall show this more clearly, with the help of divine grace, when we interpret the story of Hezekiah. He also displayed his zeal for God by stripping his mother of her authority because of the assembly and the feast she held in the grove, cutting it down, destroying all her idol shrines, and giving them to the fire. It added that he brought out of the palace the columns that he and his father had made of silver and gold and dedicated them to God the Master, together with very much other silver and gold, coined and uncoined, and sacred and very precious vessels; and yet it called him imperfect: “But Asa's heart was not perfect with the Lord all his days.” The history of Chronicles teaches this more clearly. Praying with faith, he defeated the million Ethiopians and cut them all down. But when Baasha, king of the ten tribes, attacked him and tried to fortify Ramah against him, he abandoned God and embraced the alliance of the Syrians.
1 Kgs 15:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:5 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Chr 13:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:11 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:13 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:15 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Chr 14:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Chr 14:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:18 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Chr 16:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God preserved David's line for David's sake; Asa purged idolatry and was victorious by faith, yet left the high places and later trusted Syria rather than God.
- 1 Kgs 15:3–5, 11–15, 18–20 (LXX; quotations 15:4, 5, 11–14, 14); 2 Chr 13; 14:9–15; 15:16–17; 16:1–9. Theodoret refers to his questions on Chronicles (book 5) and to his treatment of Hezekiah (book 4). “But Asa's heart was not perfect” follows the LXX of 15:14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split by the OCR and stray particle; word split by the OCR with stray mark): Κυ- & ρίου → Κυρίου; Πάλιν ἐν ταῦθα δεδήλωκεν, ὡς δὲ τὰ μὲν → Πάλιν ἐνταῦθα δεδήλωκεν, ὡς τὰ μὲν.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.47 (PG 80 80:717; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-47). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-47
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-47) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.48PG 80 80:719
Πῶς νοητέον· Ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ γήρως ἐποίησεν ᾿Ασὰ τὸ πονηρὸν καὶ ἐπόνεσε τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ; Σαφέστερον καὶ τοῦτο τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ βίβλος ἐδίδαξεν. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐζήτησε τὸν Κύριον, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἰατρούς. Ἐγὼ δὲ δυοῖν θάτερον ὑπολαμβάνω, ἢ τοὺς ἐπῳδαῖς κεχρημένους καὶ μαγγανείαις κληθῆναι ἰατροὺς, ἢ ὅτι μόνον ἐπίστευσε τοῖς ἰατροῖς, τὴν εἰς τὸν Θεὸν οὐκ ἔχων ἐλπίδα. Οἱ γὰρ εὐσεβείᾳ κοσμούμενοι κέχρηνται μὲν τοῖς ἰατροῖς, ὡς ὑπουργοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ τὴν ἰατρικὴν αὐτὸς ἔδωκε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τέχνας, καὶ τὰς βοτάνας αὐτὸς ἐκ τῆς γῆς βλαστῆσαι προσέταξεν. Ἴσασι δὲ ὅμως, ὡς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει τῶν ἰατρῶν ἡ τέχνη μὴ βουλομένου Θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τοσαῦτα δύναται, ὅσα αὐτὸς βούλεται. Τοῦ δὲ Ἱεροβοὰμ ὁ οἶκος τὴν πανωλεθρίαν ὑπέμεινε, κατὰ τὴν πρόῤῥησιν Ἀχιὰ τοῦ Σιλωνίτου. Ἐπάταξε γὰρ, φησὶ, Βαασὰ βασιλεὺς Ἰσραὴλ ὅλον τὸν οἶκον Ἱεροβοάμ· καὶ οὐχ ὑπελείπετο πᾶσα πνοὴ ἐν τῷ Ἱεροβοὰμ, ἕως τοῦ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι αὐτὸν πάντας κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα Κυρίου, ὁ ἐλάλησεν ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ δούλου αὐτοῦ Ἀχιὰ τοῦ Σιλωνίτου. Τὰ αὐτὰ δὲ καὶ Βαασὰ πέπονθε. Τὴν αὐτὴν γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς δυσσέβειαν καὶ παρανομίαν ἠσπάσατο. Κεϊλᾶ δὲ ὁ τούτου παῖς παρὰ Ζαμβρῆ ἐδέξατο τὴν πληγήν. Οὗτος δὲ πάλιν, κατὰ τὴν γεγενημένην πρόῤῥησιν, πάντα τὸν τοῦ Βαασά κατέλυσεν οἶκον. Τοῦ δὲ λαοῦ τὸν Ζαμβρῆ χειροτονήσαντος βασιλέα, πολιορκούμενος ὁ Ζαμβρῆ τὸν οἱκον ἐν ᾧ διῆγεν ἐνέπρησε, καὶ σὺν ἐκείνῳ καυθεὶς τετελεύτηκε. Διδασκόμεθα δὲ διὰ τούτων ἡμεῖς, ὡς τοὺς πονηρίᾳ συζῶντας δι' ἀλλήλων Δεσπότης κολάζει Θεός. Καὶ τῷ πονηροτέρῳ τὸν πονηρὸν παραδίδωσιν, οἷόν τισι δημίοις κεχρημένος αὐτοῖς. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τινες ζητοῦσι, πόθεν οἱ Σαμαρεῖται τήνδε τὴν προσηγορίαν ἐσχήκασιν, ἐκ τῆς προκειμένης ἱστορίας τοῦτο καταμαθεῖν εὐπετές. Ἐκτήσατο γὰρ, φησὶ, Ζαμβρὴ τὸ ὄρος τῶν Σεμερῶν τὰ παρὰ Σεμμὴρ τοῦ Κυρίου αὐτοῦ δύο ταλάντων ἀργυρίου, καὶ ᾠκοδόμησε τὸ ὄρος, καὶ ἐπεκάλεσε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ τὸ τοῦ ὄρους, οὗ ᾠκοδόμησεν, ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Σεμμὴρ τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ ὄρους Σομόρων. Τοιγαροὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ Σεμμὴρ τὸ ὄρος ὠνομάσθη Σομόρων, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ὄρους ἡ πόλις Σαμάρεια. Σαμάρεια δέ ἐστιν ἡ νῦν Σεβαστὴ προσαγορευομένη. Ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ ἦν τῶν δέκα φυλῶν τὰ βασίλεια. Ἐξανδραποδισθεισῶν δὲ τῶν δέκα φυλῶν, καὶ τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης ἐρήμου γεγενημένης, μετέστησάν τινας ἐκ τῶν ἑῴων μερῶν εἰς ἐκείνας τὰς πόλεις τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων οἱ βασιλεῖς. Οὗτοι δὲ ἐκ τῆς Σαμαρείας ὠνομάσθησαν Σαμαρεῖται. Ταῦτα περὶ Ζαμβρῆ εἰρηκὼς, ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰούδαν μετέβη καὶ τεθαύμακε μὲν τὸ τὸν Ἰωσαφάτ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις, καὶ ἔφη αὐτὸν τὸ εὐθὲς ἐνώπιον Κυρίου πεποιηκέναι. Ἐμέμψατο δὲ, ὡς τὴν ἐν τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς λατρείαν μὴ παύσαντα· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ᾿Αχαάβ τὴν συγγένειαν ἀσπασάμενον. Ταῦτα δὲ σαφέστερον καὶ ὁ τὴν ἱστορίαν συγγεγραφὼς εἰς ἐκείνην ἡμᾶς
Pōs noēteon; En tǭ kairǭ tou gērōs epoiēsen ᾿Asa to ponēron kai eponese tous podas autou? Saphesteron kai touto tōn Paraleipomenōn hē biblos edidaxen. En gar tę̄ arrhōstią autou, phēsin, ouk ezētēse ton Kyrion, alla tous iatrous. Egō de dyoin thateron hypolambanō, ē tous epǭdais kechrēmenous kai manganeiais klēthēnai iatrous, ē hoti monon episteuse tois iatrois, tēn eis ton Theon ouk echōn elpida. Hoi gar eusebeią kosmoumenoi kechrēntai men tois iatrois, hōs hypourgois tou Theou, eidotes hoti kai tēn iatrikēn autos edōke tois anthrōpois, hōsper dē kai tas allas technas, kai tas botanas autos ek tēs gēs blastēsai prosetaxen. Isasi de homōs, hōs ouden ischyei tōn iatrōn hē technē mē boulomenou Theou alla tosauta dynatai, hosa autos bouletai. Tou de Hieroboam ho oikos tēn panōlethrian hypemeine, kata tēn prorrhēsin Achia tou Silōnitou. Epataxe gar, phēsi, Baasa basileus Israēl holon ton oikon Hieroboam; kai ouch hypeleipeto pasa pnoē en tǭ Hieroboam, heōs tou exolothreusai auton pantas kata to rhēma Kyriou, ho elalēsen en cheiri tou doulou autou Achia tou Silōnitou. Ta auta de kai Baasa peponthe. Tēn autēn gar kai autos dyssebeian kai paranomian ēspasato. Keïla de ho toutou pais para Zambrē edexato tēn plēgēn. Houtos de palin, kata tēn gegenēmenēn prorrhēsin, panta ton tou Baasa katelysen oikon. Tou de laou ton Zambrē cheirotonēsantos basilea, poliorkoumenos ho Zambrē ton hoikon en hǭ diēgen eneprēse, kai syn ekeinǭ kautheis teteleutēke. Didaskometha de dia toutōn hēmeis, hōs tous ponērią syzōntas di' allēlōn Despotēs kolazei Theos. Kai tǭ ponēroterǭ ton ponēron paradidōsin, hoion tisi dēmiois kechrēmenos autois. Epeidē de tines zētousi, pothen hoi Samareitai tēnde tēn prosēgorian eschēkasin, ek tēs prokeimenēs historias touto katamathein eupetes. Ektēsato gar, phēsi, Zambrē to oros tōn Semerōn ta para Semmēr tou Kyriou autou dyo talantōn argyriou, kai ǭkodomēse to oros, kai epekalese to onoma autou to tou orous, hou ǭkodomēsen, epi tǭ onomati Semmēr tou kyriou tou orous Somorōn. Toigaroun apo tou Semmēr to oros ōnomasthē Somorōn, apo de tou orous hē polis Samareia. Samareia de estin hē nyn Sebastē prosagoreuomenē. En tautę̄ de ēn tōn deka phylōn ta basileia. Exandrapodistheisōn de tōn deka phylōn, kai tēs gēs ekeinēs erēmou gegenēmenēs, metestēsan tinas ek tōn heǭōn merōn eis ekeinas tas poleis tōn ᾿Assyriōn hoi basileis. Houtoi de ek tēs Samareias ōnomasthēsan Samareitai. Tauta peri Zambrē eirēkōs, epi ton Ioudan metebē kai tethaumake men to ton Iōsaphat en tois allois, kai ephē auton to euthes enōpion Kyriou pepoiēkenai. Emempsato de, hōs tēn en tois hypsēlois latreian mē pausanta; alla kai tou ᾿Achaab tēn syngeneian aspasamenon. Tauta de saphesteron kai ho tēn historian syngegraphōs eis ekeinēn hēmas
How should “In the time of his old age Asa did evil and was diseased in his feet” be understood? The book of Chronicles taught this too more clearly: “In his illness,” it says, “he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.” I take it to mean one of two things: either that those who use incantations and sorceries are called physicians, or that he trusted only in the physicians, having no hope in God. For those adorned with piety use physicians as servants of God, knowing that he himself gave medicine to human beings, as he did the other arts, and that he himself commanded the herbs to spring from the earth; yet they know that the art of physicians has no power unless God wills, but can do as much as he wills. The house of Jeroboam suffered utter destruction, according to the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite: “For Baasha king of Israel,” it says, “struck the whole house of Jeroboam; he left no breath to Jeroboam until he had destroyed them all, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by the hand of his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.” Baasha suffered the same, for he too embraced the same impiety and lawlessness. His son Ela received the blow from Zambri. And he in turn, according to the prophecy that had been made, destroyed the whole house of Baasha. When the people appointed Zambri king, Zambri, besieged, set fire to the house in which he was living and died, burned with it. From these things we are taught that God the Master punishes those who live in wickedness through one another, and hands over the wicked to the more wicked, using them as executioners. And since some ask where the Samaritans got this name, it is easy to learn it from the history before us: “For Zambri bought,” it says, “the hill of Semeron from Semmer its lord for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the hill which he built after the name of Semmer, the lord of the hill, Somoron.” So the hill was named Somoron after Semmer, and the city Samaria after the hill. Samaria is the city now called Sebaste. In it was the palace of the ten tribes. When the ten tribes had been carried off into captivity and that land had become desolate, the kings of the Assyrians transferred people from the eastern regions into those cities. These were named Samaritans after Samaria. Having said this about Zambri, he passed to Judah, and admired Jehoshaphat in other respects, saying that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. But he blamed him for not stopping the worship on the high places, and also for embracing kinship with Ahab. These things … more clearly … and the writer of the history … us to that book.
1 Kgs 15:23 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Chr 16:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:29 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 16:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 16:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 16:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 16:16 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 16:18 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 16:24 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 17:24 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 22:43 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 22:44 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Asa sinned by seeking physicians instead of God; the successive destructions of the houses of Jeroboam and Baasha show God punishing the wicked by the wicked; the name Samaria comes from the hill Omri bought.
- 1 Kgs 15:23; 2 Chr 16:12; 1 Kgs 15:29; 16:9–18; 16:24 (LXX); 22:43–44; 2 Kgs 17:24. The LXX uses the same form Ζαμβρί for Zimri and for Omri; Theodoret's “Zambri” who bought the hill of Samaria is Omri. The end of the answer is incomplete: its missing words (“…the book of Chronicles taught; for this reason [the writer] referred [us to it]”) appear, displaced, inside question 3.49 and are not moved; marked “…”. A displaced line and stray marks at the start of the answer are corrected by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (lines interleaved by the OCR, restored to their order; stray marks; stray article; stray column number; stray letters; stray mark; stray syllable (end of a word displaced into 3.49); word split by the OCR; word split by the OCR with stray mark): ἐποίη σεν → ἐποίησεν; αὐτοῦ; βλος ἐδίδαξεν. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φησὶν, καὶ τοῦτο Σαφέστερον καὶ τοῦσο τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ βίοὐκ ἐζήτησε τὸν 6* Κύριον → αὐτοῦ; Σαφέστερον καὶ τοῦτο τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ βίβλος ἐδίδαξεν. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐζήτησε τὸν Κύριον; κέ - χρηνται → κέχρηνται; ἀν θρώποις → ἀνθρώποις; προσέτα - ξεν → προσέταξεν; πνοὴ (65*) ἐν → πνοὴ ἐν; δυσσέβειαν το καὶ → δυσσέβειαν καὶ; Ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ τὰ ἦν → Ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ ἦν; Ἐξανδραπο- & δισθεισῶν → Ἐξανδραποδισθεισῶν; τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης – ἐρήμου → τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης ἐρήμου; σαφέστερον ριν καὶ → σαφέστερον καὶ.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.48 (PG 80 80:719; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-48). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-48
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-48) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.49PG 80 80:721
Πῶς νοητέον Οὐκ ἰδοὺ ταῦτα γέγραπται ἐπὶ βιβλίου Λόγων τῶν ἡμερῶν τῶν βασιλέων Ἰούδα; Καὶ ἐντεῦθεν δῆλον, ὡς ἅπαντα συνεγράφη τὰ τηνικαῦτα γενόμενα· καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνων τῶν βιβλίων, τὰς μὲν οὗτος ὁ συγγραφεὺς, τὰς δὲ οἱ τὰς Παραλειπομένας συγγεγραφότες, ἔλαβον τῆς ἱστορίας τὰς ἀφορμάς.
Pōs noēteon Ouk idou tauta gegraptai epi bibliou Logōn tōn hēmerōn tōn basileōn Iouda? Kai enteuthen dēlon, hōs hapanta synegraphē ta tēnikauta genomena; kai ex ekeinōn tōn bibliōn, tas men houtos ho syngrapheus, tas de hoi tas Paraleipomenas syngegraphotes, elabon tēs historias tas aphormas.
How should “Are these things not written in the book of the Acts of the Days of the Kings of Judah?” be understood? From this too it is clear that everything that happened at that time was written down; and from those books both this writer and those who wrote Chronicles took the materials of their history.
1 Kgs 22:45 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 15:23 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The reference to the royal annals shows that both Kings and Chronicles drew on earlier written records.
- 1 Kgs 22:45 (LXX 16:28d); compare 15:23. Words belonging to the end of question 3.48 (“…the book of Chronicles taught; for this reason … referred”) had been printed inside the word “Chronicles” and are removed by a logged correction; they are not moved to 3.48.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (displaced words of question 3.48 printed inside the word Παραλειπομένας): οἱ τὰς Παραλειἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων βίβλος ἐδίδαξεν. Οὗ δὴ χάπαρέπεμψεν. πομένας → οἱ τὰς Παραλειπομένας.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.49 (PG 80 80:721; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-49). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-49
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-49) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.50PG 80 80:723
Τίνα δὲ λέγει τὸν Βαάλ; Ὡς Ἰώσηπος ἔφη, Τυρίων ἦν οὗτος θεός ἡ δὲ 'Αστάρτη Σιδωνίων. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ἐδίδαξε τὰ περὶ τοῦ Σολομῶντος συγγράφων, ὅτι τέμενος ᾠκοδόμησε τῇ ᾿Αστάρτῃ βδελύγματι Σιδωνίων. Ταύτῃ καὶ τὰ ἄλση φυτεύοντες ἀνετίθεσαν· ᾿Αστάρτη δὲ ἐστιν ἡ παρ' Ἕλλησιν ᾿Αφροδίτη προσαγορευομένη.
Tina de legei ton Baal? Hōs Iōsēpos ephē, Tyriōn ēn houtos theos hē de 'Astartē Sidōniōn. Touto gar kai en tois prosthen edidaxe ta peri tou Solomōntos syngraphōn, hoti temenos ǭkodomēse tę̄ ᾿Astartę̄ bdelygmati Sidōniōn. Tautę̄ kai ta alsē phyteuontes anetithesan; ᾿Astartē de estin hē par' Hellēsin ᾿Aphroditē prosagoreuomenē.
Whom does he call Baal? As Josephus said, this was the god of the Tyrians, and Astarte that of the Sidonians. He taught this earlier too, when writing about Solomon, that he built a precinct to Astarte, the abomination of the Sidonians. To her also they dedicated the groves they planted. Astarte is the one called Aphrodite among the Greeks.
1 Kgs 16:31 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 16:33 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 11:5 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Baal was the god of Tyre and Astarte, called Aphrodite by the Greeks, the goddess of Sidon.
- 1 Kgs 16:31–33; 11:5, 33; Josephus, Ant. 8.13.1.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray marks; word split by the OCR and stray mark): πρόσ θεν τ' ἐδίδαξε → πρόσθεν ἐδίδαξε; ᾿Αστάρτῃ τ8 βδελύγματι → ᾿Αστάρτῃ βδελύγματι.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 8.13.1 (Josephus (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.50 (PG 80 80:723; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-50). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-50
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-50) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.51PG 80 80:723
Οὐ δοκεῖ τολμηρὸν εἶναι τὸ περὶ τοῦ Ἠλιοῦ ῥηθὲν, Εἰ ἔσται τὰ ἔτη ταῦτα δρόσος ἢ ὑετὸς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, εἰ μὴ διὰ στόματός μου;» Τολμηρόν ἐστι τὸ κατὰ τῶν πνευματικῶν ἀνδρῶν τοιούτους εἰσδέχεσθαι λογισμούς. Προφήτης γὰρ ἦν, καὶ προφητῶν κορυφαῖος, καὶ τῷ θείῳ πυρπολούμενος ζήλῳ. Καὶ ταῦτα τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἐνεργοῦντος εἴρηκεν. Ὅθεν καὶ τὸ πέρας είληφεν.
Ou dokei tolmēron einai to peri tou Ēliou rhēthen, Ei estai ta etē tauta drosos ē hyetos epi tēs gēs, ei mē dia stomatos mou?» Tolmēron esti to kata tōn pneumatikōn andrōn toioutous eisdechesthai logismous. Prophētēs gar ēn, kai prophētōn koryphaios, kai tǭ theiǭ pyrpoloumenos zēlǭ. Kai tauta tou theiou Pneumatos energountos eirēken. Hothen kai to peras eilēphen.
Does not Elijah's saying seem rash: “There shall be neither dew nor rain on the earth these years, except by the word of my mouth”? It is rash to entertain such thoughts about spiritual men. He was a prophet, the chief of prophets, burning with divine zeal; and he said this through the working of the divine Spirit. That is why it was also fulfilled.
1 Kgs 17:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Jas 5:17 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Elijah's oath about the rain was not rash, for he spoke by the Spirit and his word was fulfilled.
- 1 Kgs 17:1.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.51 (PG 80 80:723; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-51). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-51
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-51) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.52PG 80 80:723
Πῶς ὁ ἅγιος ὢν, καὶ κατὰ νόμον πολιτευόμενος, ἤσθιε τὴν διὰ τῶν κοράκων αὐτῷ κομιζομένην τροφήν; Αὐτὸς ὁ νομοθέτης ταύτην αὐτῷ διὰ τῶν κοράκων προσέφερεν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ προσέταξεν ἐν τῷ χειμάῤῥῳ διάγειν τῷ χόῤῥαν, ὑποσχόμενος πέμψειν αὐτῷ διὰ κοράκων τροφὴν, καὶ πεπλήρωκε τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν. Προσέφερον γὰρ οἱ κόρακες ἄρτους μὲν ἔωθεν, δείλης δὲ κρέα. Διδάσκει δὲ διὰ τούτων ἡμᾶς ὁ νομοθέτης, ὡς τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀσθενείας ἕνεκα τοὺς τοιούτους ἐτεθείκει νόμους, οὓς ποτὲ μὲν αὐτὸς παραβῆναι προσέταττεν· ἐν σαββάτῳ γὰρ ἐπτάκις κυκλῶσαι τὴν Ἱεριχώ, καὶ Ἰησοῦν τὸν προφήτην, καὶ Ἐλεάζαρ τὸν ἀρχιερέα, καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ ἱερέας καὶ Λευΐτας ἐκέλευσε, καὶ ἅπαντα τὸν λαόν καὶ νῦν τὸν μέγαν Ἠλίαν δέχεσθαι τὴν διὰ τῶν κοράκων κομιζομένην αὐτῷ τροφήν· ποτὲ δὲ τοὺς τοιούτους παραβεβηκόσι νόμους οὐκ ἐπεμέμψατο. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Σαμψὼν διὰ μὲν τὴν μέθην, καὶ τὴν λαγνείαν, τῆς θείας ἐγυμνώθη χάριτος - φαγὼν δὲ τὸ κηρίον τοῦ μέλιτος, ὁ ἐν νεκρῷ λέοντι ἐξύφηναν μέλισσαι, κατηγορίαν οὐδεμίαν ἐδέξατο.
Pōs ho hagios ōn, kai kata nomon politeuomenos, ēsthie tēn dia tōn korakōn autǭ komizomenēn trophēn? Autos ho nomothetēs tautēn autǭ dia tōn korakōn prosepheren. Autos gar autǭ kai prosetaxen en tǭ cheimarrhǭ diagein tǭ chorrhan, hyposchomenos pempsein autǭ dia korakōn trophēn, kai peplērōke tēn hyposchesin. Prosepheron gar hoi korakes artous men eōthen, deilēs de krea. Didaskei de dia toutōn hēmas ho nomothetēs, hōs tēs Ioudaiōn astheneias heneka tous toioutous etetheikei nomous, hous pote men autos parabēnai prosetatten; en sabbatǭ gar eptakis kyklōsai tēn Hierichō, kai Iēsoun ton prophētēn, kai Eleazar ton archierea, kai tous syn autǭ hiereas kai Leuïtas ekeleuse, kai hapanta ton laon kai nyn ton megan Ēlian dechesthai tēn dia tōn korakōn komizomenēn autǭ trophēn; pote de tous toioutous parabebēkosi nomous ouk epemempsato. Kai gar ho Sampsōn dia men tēn methēn, kai tēn lagneian, tēs theias egymnōthē charitos - phagōn de to kērion tou melitos, ho en nekrǭ leonti exyphēnan melissai, katēgorian oudemian edexato.
How could he, being holy and living according to the law, eat the food brought to him by ravens? The Lawgiver himself brought it to him through the ravens. For he himself commanded him to stay by the brook Chorrath, promising to send him food through ravens, and he fulfilled the promise: the ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening. Through this the Lawgiver teaches us that he had laid down such laws because of the weakness of the Jews; laws which sometimes he himself commanded to be broken: for he ordered Joshua the prophet and Eleazar the high priest, and the priests and Levites with them, and all the people, to go around Jericho seven times on the Sabbath; and now he ordered the great Elijah to receive the food brought to him by the ravens. At other times he did not blame those who broke such laws. Samson, for instance, was stripped of divine grace because of drunkenness and lust; but he received no accusation for eating the honeycomb that bees had woven in a dead lion.
1 Kgs 17:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Lev 11:15 (allusion, medium confidence) · Josh 6:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Judg 14:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Judg 16:1 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God himself fed Elijah by unclean ravens, showing that such purity laws were concessions to Israel's weakness, which God could set aside.
- 1 Kgs 17:3–6; Josh 6:3–15 (Theodoret holds that the seventh circuit fell on a Sabbath); Judg 14:8–9; 16:1–20. The raven was unclean under the law, Lev 11:15. Theodoret's view of the ceremonial laws is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR accent error; digit read for a letter; stray mark; word split by the OCR; word split by the OCR with stray bracket): κὰὶ κατὰ → καὶ κατὰ; ὑποσχό μενος → ὑποσχόμενος; πε( πλήρωκε → πεπλήρωκε; ἐτεθείκει· νόμους → ἐτεθείκει νόμους; σα5βάτῳ → σαββάτῳ; νε κρῷ → νεκρῷ.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.52 (PG 80 80:723; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-52). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-52
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-52) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.53PG 80 80:725
Τίνος χάριν πρὸς χήραν ἀλλόφυλον ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν ἀπελθεῖν; Καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν τῶν τοιούτων νόμων τὰς αἰτίας διδάσκει. Εἰ γὰρ ᾔδει στεῤῥὸν τῶν Ἰουδαίων τὸ φρόνημα, καὶ τὴν πίστιν ἐδραίαν, οὐκ ἂν αὐτοῖς φυγεῖν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐπιμιξίαν προσέταξεν· ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἐκέλευσεν ἂν αὐτοῖς συνδιάγειν, καὶ κηρύττειν αὐτοῖς τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Τοῦτο γὰρ διδάσκει καὶ ἡ τοῦ νόμου αἰτία. Εἰρηκώς γάρ· Οὐ δώσεις τὰς θυγατέρας σου τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας αὐτῶν τοῖς υἱοῖς σου, ἐπήγαγεν· ἵνα μὴ ἐκπορνεύσωσιν οἱ αὐτῶν τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν, καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες αὐτῶν τοὺς υἱοὺς ὑμῶν, ὅπισθεν Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑμῶν. Τὸν δέ γε προφήτην, ὡς εὐεργετῆσαι δυνάμενον, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐκώλυσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσέταξεν ἀπελθεῖν. Οἶμαι δὲ ὅτι καὶ δεῖξαι βουλόμενος αὐτῷ δαπανωμένην τῷ λιμῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν, πρῶτον μὲν εἰς τὸν χειμάῤῥουν ἐπήγαγεν εἶτα τοῦτον ξηράνας, πρὸς τὴν χήραν ἀπήγαγε γυναῖκα, οὐδὲν ἔχουσαν πλὴν ὀλίγης τροφῆς εἰς μίαν ἀποχρώσης ἡμέραν. Ζῇ γὰρ, ἔφη, Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, εἰ ἔστι μοι ἐγκρυφίας, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ὅσον δράξ ἀλεύρου ἐν τῇ ὑδρίᾳ, καὶ ὀλίγον ἔλαιον ἐν τῷ καμψάκῃ καὶ ἰδοὺ συλλέξω δύο ξυλάρια, καὶ εἰσελεύσομαι, καὶ ποιήσω αὐτὸ ἐμαυτῇ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις μου, καὶ φαγόμεθα καὶ ἀποθανούμεθα. Μόνην, φησὶν, ἔχω τὴν τελευταίαν τροφὴν, μεθ᾽ ἣν τὴν τοῦ λιμοῦ προσμένω πληγήν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἄγαμαι τῆς γυναικὸς τὸ πρᾶον τῆς ἀποκρίσεως. Οὐ γὰρ ἐδυσχέρανεν, ὡς ἐν τηλικαύταις συμφοραῖς αἰτηθεῖσα τροφὴν, ἀλλὰ μόνην ἔδειξε τὴν ἐσχάτην πενίαν. ᾿Αλλ' ὁ μέγας ἐκεῖνος καὶ δίκαιος· ἀνὴρ ὑπέσχετο μὲν τὰς τοῦ ἀλεύρου καὶ ἐλαίου πηγάς. Προσέταξε δὲ αὐτῷ πρώτῳ ποιῆσαι καὶ κομίσαι τὸν ἄρτον. Ἡ δὲ πάλιν οὐκ ἐδυσφόρησεν, ὡς πενίας, καὶ χηρείας, καὶ παιδοτροφίας τηκομένη φροντίσιν· ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν δεξαμένη πιστῶς, προσήνεγκε τὴν τροφὴν, καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ εἰδυῖα τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀλλόφυλος γὰρ ἦν· προφητικῆς δυνάμεως πεῖραν οὐ δεδεγμένη. Οἶμαι δὲ ἐν ταύτῃ προτυπωθῆναι τὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίαν. Τὸν γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν διωκόμενον πιστῶς ὑπεδέξατο, καθάπερ καὶ ἐκκλησία τοὺς ἀποστόλους ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν τούτων ἐξελαθέντας.
Tinos charin pros chēran allophylon ekeleusen auton apelthein? Kai touto palin tōn toioutōn nomōn tas aitias didaskei. Ei gar ę̄dei sterrhon tōn Ioudaiōn to phronēma, kai tēn pistin edraian, ouk an autois phygein tōn allophylōn epimixian prosetaxen; alla tounantion ekeleusen an autois syndiagein, kai kēryttein autois tēn eusebeian. Touto gar didaskei kai hē tou nomou aitia. Eirēkōs gar; Ou dōseis tas thygateras sou tois huiois tōn allophylōn, kai tas thygateras autōn tois huiois sou, epēgagen; hina mē ekporneusōsin hoi autōn tas thygateras hymōn, kai hai thygateres autōn tous huious hymōn, hopisthen Kyriou tou Theou hymōn. Ton de ge prophētēn, hōs euergetēsai dynamenon, ou monon ouk ekōlysen, alla kai prosetaxen apelthein. Oimai de hoti kai deixai boulomenos autǭ dapanōmenēn tǭ limǭ tōn anthrōpōn tēn physin, prōton men eis ton cheimarrhoun epēgagen eita touton xēranas, pros tēn chēran apēgage gynaika, ouden echousan plēn oligēs trophēs eis mian apochrōsēs hēmeran. Zę̄ gar, ephē, Kyrios ho Theos sou, ei esti moi enkryphias, all᾽ ē hoson drax aleurou en tę̄ hydrią, kai oligon elaion en tǭ kampsakę̄ kai idou syllexō dyo xylaria, kai eiseleusomai, kai poiēsō auto emautę̄ kai tois teknois mou, kai phagometha kai apothanoumetha. Monēn, phēsin, echō tēn teleutaian trophēn, meth᾽ hēn tēn tou limou prosmenō plēgēn. Egō de agamai tēs gynaikos to praon tēs apokriseōs. Ou gar edyscheranen, hōs en tēlikautais symphorais aitētheisa trophēn, alla monēn edeixe tēn eschatēn penian. ᾿All' ho megas ekeinos kai dikaios; anēr hypescheto men tas tou aleurou kai elaiou pēgas. Prosetaxe de autǭ prōtǭ poiēsai kai komisai ton arton. Hē de palin ouk edysphorēsen, hōs penias, kai chēreias, kai paidotrophias tēkomenē phrontisin; alla tēn epangelian dexamenē pistōs, prosēnenke tēn trophēn, kai tauta ouk eiduia ton anthrōpon allophylos gar ēn; prophētikēs dynameōs peiran ou dedegmenē. Oimai de en tautę̄ protypōthēnai tēn ex ethnōn Ekklēsian. Ton gar hypo tōn Israēlitōn diōkomenon pistōs hypedexato, kathaper kai ekklēsia tous apostolous hyp᾿ autōn toutōn exelathentas.
Why did he order him to go to a foreign widow? This again teaches the reasons for such laws. If he had known that the Jews' mind was firm and their faith steadfast, he would not have commanded them to avoid mixing with foreigners; on the contrary he would have ordered them to live with them and proclaim piety to them. The reason given for the law teaches this. For having said, “You shall not give your daughters to the sons of foreigners, nor their daughters to your sons,” he added, “so that their sons do not lead your daughters to play the harlot, and their daughters your sons, after other gods, away from the Lord your God.” But the prophet, since he was able to do good, he not only did not forbid but even commanded to go. I think too that, wishing to show him human nature being consumed by famine, he first brought him to the brook, then dried it up and led him to the widow, a woman who had nothing but a little food sufficient for one day. “As the Lord your God lives,” she said, “I have no cake, but only a handful of flour in the jar and a little oil in the cruse; and see, I am gathering two sticks, and I will go in and make it for myself and my children, and we will eat it and die.” I have only this last food, she means, after which I await the blow of famine. I admire the gentleness of the woman's answer. She was not annoyed at being asked for food in such calamities, but only showed her extreme poverty. But that great and righteous man promised her springs of flour and oil, and told her to make the bread and bring it to him first. Again she was not resentful, though worn down by the cares of poverty, widowhood and raising children; but receiving the promise with faith, she brought the food, and that without knowing the man, for she was a foreigner and had no experience of prophetic power. I think that the church from the nations was prefigured in her. For she received with faith the one persecuted by the Israelites, just as the church received the apostles driven out by these same people.
1 Kgs 17:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Deut 7:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 7:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 34:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:7 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:13 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 4:26 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God sent Elijah to a Gentile widow, who in her poverty fed him in faith; she prefigures the Gentile church that received the persecuted apostles.
- 1 Kgs 17:7–16 (quotation 17:12); the law, Deut 7:3–4 (quoted loosely; compare Exod 34:16). The typology of the widow as the Gentile church is Theodoret's own; translated as written. The words “to go” of the question had been displaced to the beginning of the printed text and are put back in place, and stray letters at the end are removed, by logged corrections. The staging flags a possible lost question because of this displacement; the question is present.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray bracket; stray letter; stray mark; stray marks; stray repeated words at the end; word split by the OCR; words of the question displaced to the beginning, restored to their place): αὐτὸν ἀπελθεῖν Τίνος χάριν πρὸς χήραν ἀλλόφυλον ἐκέλευσεν Καὶ → Τίνος χάριν πρὸς χήραν ἀλλόφυλον ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν ἀπελθεῖν; Καὶ; τοὐναντίον θ5 ἐκέλευσεν → τοὐναντίον ἐκέλευσεν; σου, ὁ ἐπήγαγεν → σου, ἐπήγαγεν; σου, εἰ· ἔστι → σου, εἰ ἔστι; προσμένω· πληγήν → προσμένω πληγήν; τὸ ( πρᾶον → τὸ πρᾶον; οὐκ εἰς δυῖα τὸν → οὐκ εἰδυῖα τὸν; ἐξελαθέντας. καὶ δίκαιος. → ἐξελαθέντας..
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.53 (PG 80 80:725; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-53). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-53
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-53) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.54PG 80 80:727
Τίνος χάριν τὸν τῆς χήρας τελευτῆσαι υἱὸν συνεχώρησεν ὁ Θεός; ᾿Αφθόνως ὁ προφήτης ἀπολαύων τροφῆς τῆς τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων ἐπελάθετο συμφορᾶς. Οὗ δὴ χάριν καὶ τῆς χήρας αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς ἐπεστράτευσεν οἰμωγάς. Ἐπέγνω δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν αἰτίαν· Οἴμοι γὰρ, φησὶ, Κύριε, ὁ μάρτυς τῆς χήρας μεθ᾿ ἧς ἐγὼ οἰκῶ μετ᾿ αὐτῆς, σὺ ἐκάκωσας τοῦ θανατῶσαι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς. ᾿Αξιάγαστα δὲ τῆς χήρας τὰ ῥήματα· Εἰσῆλθες γὰρ, φησὶ, πρός με, τοῦ ἀναμνῆσαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου, καὶ θανατῶσαι τὸν υἱὸν μου. Τῷ σῷ φωτί, φησὶν, ἐγυμνώθη τὰ κεκρυμμένα μου πλημμελήματα καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν, οἷα δὴ ἀλλόφυλος οὖσα, Οιωνός μοι γέγονας πονηρὸς, πρόξενος κακῶν μοι ἡ σὴ γεγένηται παρουσία· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ταῖς οἰκείαις ἁμαρτίαις τὸ συμβὰν ἀνατέθεικε. Τοσοῦτον ὤνησεν αὐτὴν ἡ τοῦ προφήτου διδασκαλία. Τοιγάρτοι καὶ δι᾿ αὐτὴν ἡ τοῦ παιδὸς γέγονε τελευτή ἵνα θεασαμένη τὴν παρὰ φύσιν γεγενημένην ἀνάστασιν, βεβαίαν δέξηται τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Ὁ δὲ προφήτης προςηύξατο πρὸς Κύριον περὶ τοῦ τεθνηκότος παιδαρίου· μετὰ τὴν προσευχὴν δὲ τρὶς ἐμφυσήσας τῷ μειρακίῳ εἰς ζωὴν ἐπανήγαγε. Δηλοῖ δὲ ὁ μὲν ἀριθμὸς τὴν προσκυνουμένην Τριάδα τὸ δὲ ἐμφύσημα, τὴν ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς ψυχῆς γεγενημένην δημιουργίαν. Αλλ' ὁ προφήτης ἐμφυσήσας οὐκ ἄλλην ψυχὴν ἐδημιούργησεν ἀλλὰ τὴν χωρισθεῖσαν τοῦ σώματος ἐπανήγαγεν. Ὁ δὲ φιλάνθρωπος καὶ φιλοικτείρμων Θεὸς, τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ γένος ὁρῶν διολλύμενον, καὶ τὸν προφήτην αἰτῆσαι τὸν ἔλεον μὴ βουλόμενον, καὶ τοὺς μὲν οἱκτείρων, καὶ δοῦναι τὸν ἔλεον ἐπειγόμενος, τὸν δὲ γεραίρων, καὶ παρὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ γνώμην λῦσαι τὴν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν οὐκ ἀνεχόμενος ψῆφον, αὐτὸς ἔρχεται πρεσβευτὴς πρὸς τὸν οἰκέτην ὁ δεσπότης, πρὸς τὸν πηλὸν ὁ δημιουργὸς, καὶ πείθει λῦσαι τῶν νεφῶν τὰς ὠδῖνας τὴν πεδήσασαν γλῶσσαν Ἐγένετο γὰρ, φησὶ, μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας πολλὰς, καὶ ῥῆμα Κυρίου ἐγένετο πρὸς Ἠλίαν ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ τῷ τρίτῳ, λέγον· Πορεύου καὶ ὄφθητι ᾿Αχαάβ, καὶ δώσω ὑετὸν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς.
Tinos charin ton tēs chēras teleutēsai huion synechōrēsen ho Theos? ᾿Aphthonōs ho prophētēs apolauōn trophēs tēs tōn allōn anthrōpōn epelatheto symphoras. Hou dē charin kai tēs chēras autǭ ho Theos epestrateusen oimōgas. Epegnō de kai autos tēn aitian; Oimoi gar, phēsi, Kyrie, ho martys tēs chēras meth᾿ hēs egō oikō met᾿ autēs, sy ekakōsas tou thanatōsai ton huion autēs. ᾿Axiagasta de tēs chēras ta rhēmata; Eisēlthes gar, phēsi, pros me, tou anamnēsai tas hamartias mou, kai thanatōsai ton huion mou. Tǭ sǭ phōti, phēsin, egymnōthē ta kekrymmena mou plēmmelēmata kai ouk eipen, hoia dē allophylos ousa, Oiōnos moi gegonas ponēros, proxenos kakōn moi hē sē gegenētai parousia; alla mallon tais oikeiais hamartiais to symban anatetheike. Tosouton ōnēsen autēn hē tou prophētou didaskalia. Toigartoi kai di᾿ autēn hē tou paidos gegone teleutē hina theasamenē tēn para physin gegenēmenēn anastasin, bebaian dexētai tēn eusebeian. Ho de prophētēs prosēuxato pros Kyrion peri tou tethnēkotos paidariou; meta tēn proseuchēn de tris emphysēsas tǭ meirakiǭ eis zōēn epanēgage. Dēloi de ho men arithmos tēn proskynoumenēn Triada to de emphysēma, tēn en archę̄ tēs psychēs gegenēmenēn dēmiourgian. All' ho prophētēs emphysēsas ouk allēn psychēn edēmiourgēsen alla tēn chōristheisan tou sōmatos epanēgagen. Ho de philanthrōpos kai philoikteirmōn Theos, tōn anthrōpōn to genos horōn diollymenon, kai ton prophētēn aitēsai ton eleon mē boulomenon, kai tous men hoikteirōn, kai dounai ton eleon epeigomenos, ton de gerairōn, kai para tēn autou gnōmēn lysai tēn exenechtheisan ouk anechomenos psēphon, autos erchetai presbeutēs pros ton oiketēn ho despotēs, pros ton pēlon ho dēmiourgos, kai peithei lysai tōn nephōn tas ōdinas tēn pedēsasan glōssan Egeneto gar, phēsi, meth᾽ hēmeras pollas, kai rhēma Kyriou egeneto pros Ēlian en tǭ eniautǭ tǭ tritǭ, legon; Poreuou kai ophthēti ᾿Achaab, kai dōsō hyeton epi prosōpon tēs gēs.
Why did God allow the widow's son to die? Enjoying abundant food, the prophet forgot the calamity of other people. For this reason God set the widow's laments against him. He himself recognized the cause: “Alas, Lord,” he says, “witness of the widow with whom I am staying, you have done evil in killing her son.” The widow's words are admirable: “You came to me,” she says, “to bring my sins to remembrance and to kill my son.” By your light, she means, my hidden offenses have been exposed. She did not say, as a foreigner might, “You have been a bad omen to me; your coming has brought me evils”; but rather attributed what happened to her own sins. So much had the prophet's teaching benefited her. So the child's death happened for her sake too, so that, seeing a resurrection that happened beyond nature, she might receive piety firmly. The prophet prayed to the Lord about the dead child; and after the prayer, breathing on the boy three times, he brought him back to life. The number signifies the worshiped Trinity, and the breathing the creation of the soul in the beginning. But the prophet, by breathing, did not create another soul, but brought back the one separated from the body. God, who loves humankind and is full of compassion, seeing the human race perishing, and the prophet unwilling to ask for mercy, both pitying the people and hastening to give mercy, and honoring the prophet and not consenting to undo the sentence he had pronounced against his will, himself comes as an envoy, the Master to the servant, the Creator to the clay, and persuades the tongue that had bound the clouds' labor to release it. “For it came to pass,” it says, “after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go and show yourself to Ahab, and I will give rain on the face of the earth.”
1 Kgs 17:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:20 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:18 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:21 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:22 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 18:1 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God let the widow's son die to rouse Elijah's compassion and to confirm the widow's faith by his resurrection; then God himself asked Elijah to end the drought.
- 1 Kgs 17:17–24 (quotations 17:20, 18); 18:1 (quoted). The three breaths are LXX 17:21 (“breathed on the child three times”); Gen 2:7. The trinitarian reading of the number is Theodoret's; translated as written. Displaced words of the quotation of 18:1 printed inside the preceding sentence are restored to their place by logged corrections.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (displaced words restored to their place in the quotation; stray footnote mark and accent; stray letter; word split by the OCR; words of the quotation of 18:1 displaced into the sentence; restored below): οίμωγάς *. → οἰμωγάς.; πλημ μελήματα → πλημμελήματα; πρόξενος ὁ κακῶν → πρόξενος κακῶν; θεασα. μένη → θεασαμένη; γεγενημέν νην → γεγενημένην; τῶν ᾿ ἀνθρώ πων → τῶν ἀνθρώπων; καὶ τὸν* προφήτην φησὶ, μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας πολλὰς, καὶ ῥῆμα Κυρίου ἐγένετο καὶ ὄφθητι ᾿Αχαάβ, καὶ δώσω ὑετὸν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αἰτῆσαι → καὶ τὸν προφήτην αἰτῆσαι; Ἐγένετο γὰρ, πρὸς Ἠλίαν ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ τῷ τρίτῳ, λέγον· Πορεύου τῆς γῆς. → Ἐγένετο γὰρ, φησὶ, μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας πολλὰς, καὶ ῥῆμα Κυρίου ἐγένετο πρὸς Ἠλίαν ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ τῷ τρίτῳ, λέγον· Πορεύου καὶ ὄφθητι ᾿Αχαάβ, καὶ δώσω ὑετὸν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς..
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.54 (PG 80 80:727; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-54). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-54
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-54) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.55PG 80 80:727
Πῶς νοητέον· Εἰ ἔστιν ἔθνος ἢ βασιλεία, οὗ οὐκ ἀπέσταλκεν ὁ Κύριος μου ζητεῖν σε, καὶ εἶπον, Οὐκ ἔστιν ; Ἐπειδὴ ὁ προφήτης εἰρήκει τῷ Ἀχαάβ, Ζῇ Κύριος ὁ Θεός μου, εἱ ἔσται τὰ ἔτη ταῦτα ὑετὸς ἢ δρόσος, εἰ μὴ διὰ λόγου στόματός μου, λαβὼν τῆς τῶν λόγων ἀληθείας τὴν πεῖραν ὁ ᾿Αχαάβ, ἀναγκαίως ἐπεζήτει τὸν τῇ γλώττῃ τὰ νέφη καθείρξαντα, ἵνα δυοῖν θάτερον δράσῃ, ἢ ἀνοῖξαι πείσῃ, ἢ μὴ πειθόμενον διολέσῃ. Ὁ δὲ ᾿Αβδιοὺ τῶν ἄγαν ἦν εὐσεβῶν· καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκει οὐ μόνον αὐτοῦ τὰ ῥήματα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πράγματα. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἀναιρουμένους ὑπὸ τῆς Ἰεζάβελ τοὺς προφήτας ὁρῶν, οὐ μόνον κατέκρυψεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ διέθρεψε, καὶ οὐ τρεῖς, οὐδὲ τέσσαρας, οὐδὲ πέντε, καὶ δέκα, ἀλλ᾽ ἑκατὸν διχῆ διελών. Καὶ οὐκ ἔδεισε τῆς κρατούσης μιαιφονίαν, ἀλλὰ πάντων προετίμησε τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Ἔπειτα δὲ τὸν μέγαν Ἠλίαν ἰδὼν, ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἶπεν· Εἰ σὺ εἶ αὐτὸς, κύριέ μου Ἠλίας; Καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς δὲ δείκνυσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Ἔσται γὰρ, φησὶν, ὅτε ἀπέλθω ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἄρῃ σε εἰς γῆν ἣν οὐκ οἶδα. ᾿Ανδρὸς γὰρ ταῦτα μελετῶντος τὰ θεῖα, καὶ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἐπισταμένου τὴν δύναμιν.
Pōs noēteon; Ei estin ethnos ē basileia, hou ouk apestalken ho Kyrios mou zētein se, kai eipon, Ouk estin ? Epeidē ho prophētēs eirēkei tǭ Achaab, Zę̄ Kyrios ho Theos mou, hei estai ta etē tauta hyetos ē drosos, ei mē dia logou stomatos mou, labōn tēs tōn logōn alētheias tēn peiran ho ᾿Achaab, anankaiōs epezētei ton tę̄ glōttę̄ ta nephē katheirxanta, hina dyoin thateron drasę̄, ē anoixai peisę̄, ē mē peithomenon diolesę̄. Ho de ᾿Abdiou tōn agan ēn eusebōn; kai touto didaskei ou monon autou ta rhēmata, alla kai ta pragmata. Prōton men gar anairoumenous hypo tēs Iezabel tous prophētas horōn, ou monon katekrypsen, alla kai diethrepse, kai ou treis, oude tessaras, oude pente, kai deka, all᾽ hekaton dichē dielōn. Kai ouk edeise tēs kratousēs miaiphonian, alla pantōn proetimēse tēn eusebeian. Epeita de ton megan Ēlian idōn, epesen epi prosōpon autou, kai eipen; Ei sy ei autos, kyrie mou Ēlias? Kai ta hexēs de deiknysin autou tēn eusebeian. Estai gar, phēsin, hote apelthō apo sou, kai Pneuma Kyriou arę̄ se eis gēn hēn ouk oida. ᾿Andros gar tauta meletōntos ta theia, kai tou theiou Pneumatos epistamenou tēn dynamin.
How should “There is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you; and they said, He is not here” be understood? Since the prophet had said to Ahab, “As the Lord my God lives, there shall be neither rain nor dew these years, except by the word of my mouth,” Ahab, having experienced the truth of the words, necessarily sought the one who had shut up the clouds with his tongue, so as to do one of two things: either persuade him to open them, or, if he would not be persuaded, destroy him. Obadiah was one of the very pious, and not only his words but also his deeds teach this. First, when he saw the prophets being killed by Jezebel, he not only hid them but fed them, and not three, or four, or five and ten, but a hundred, dividing them into two groups. He did not fear the murderousness of the queen, but preferred piety to everything. Then, seeing the great Elijah, he fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” What follows also shows his piety: “It will happen,” he says, “that when I go from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you off to a land I do not know.” These are the words of a man who meditated on divine things and knew the power of the divine Spirit.
1 Kgs 18:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:1 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 18:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 18:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 18:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 18:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ahab sought Elijah everywhere to force or kill him; Obadiah, who hid a hundred prophets, shows his piety in word and deed.
- 1 Kgs 18:10 (LXX); 17:1; 18:4, 7, 12. A displaced line (a second form of a sentence of 3.54, on God's pity and the prophet's unwillingness to ask for mercy) printed inside the sentence on Obadiah is removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR accent error; displaced line from question 3.54 printed inside the sentence; stray mark; word split by the OCR): ἔθνὸς → ἔθνος; πειθό μενον → πειθόμενον; εὐσεβῶν ται, οἰκτείρων δὲ τὸ γένος, ἐκεῖνον δὲ μὴ καμπτόμενον βλέπων ἐπὶ τὸ αἰτῆσαι τὸν ἔλεον, αὐτὸς ἔρχεται καὶ τοῦτο → εὐσεβῶν· καὶ τοῦτο; Ἠλίας"; → Ἠλίας;.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.55 (PG 80 80:727; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-55). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-55
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-55) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.56PG 80 80:729
Τι δήποτε, τοῦ νόμου διαγορεύοντος ἐν ἑνὶ τόπῳ λατρεύειν, ὁ Ἠλίας ἐν τῷ Καρμήλῳ θυσιαστήριον ᾠκοδόμησεν ; Ὅτι Τῷ δικαίῳ νόμος οὐ κεῖται, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον ᾿Απόστολον, ἀνόμοις δὲ καὶ ἀνυποτάκτοις. γὰρ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ διὰ τὴν εὐκολίαν τῆς γνώμης ἐν ἑνὶ χωρίῳ λατρεύειν ἐνομοθέτησεν, ἵνα μὴ λαβόντες ἄδειαν προσκυνήσωσι καὶ τοῖς ψευδωνύμοις θεοῖς. Ὁ δὲ προφήτης δεῖξαι ἠβουλήθη τῶν μὲν λαοπλάνων δαιμόνων τὸ ἀσθενὲς, τοῦ δὲ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων τὸ παντοδύναμον· ἀγαγεῖν δὲ αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ναὸν οὐχ οἷόν τε ἦν, διχῆ τῆς βασιλείας διηρημένης. "Οθεν αὐτοὺς ἀνήγαγεν εἰς τὸν Κάρμηλον, ἔνθα τὰς πλείους ἐποιεῖτο διατριβάς.
Ti dēpote, tou nomou diagoreuontos en heni topǭ latreuein, ho Ēlias en tǭ Karmēlǭ thysiastērion ǭkodomēsen ? Hoti Tǭ dikaiǭ nomos ou keitai, kata ton theion ᾿Apostolon, anomois de kai anypotaktois. gar ton Israēl dia tēn eukolian tēs gnōmēs en heni chōriǭ latreuein enomothetēsen, hina mē labontes adeian proskynēsōsi kai tois pseudōnymois theois. Ho de prophētēs deixai ēboulēthē tōn men laoplanōn daimonōn to asthenes, tou de Theou tōn holōn to pantodynamon; agagein de autous eis ton en Hierosolymois naon ouch hoion te ēn, dichē tēs basileias diērēmenēs. "Othen autous anēgagen eis ton Karmēlon, entha tas pleious epoieito diatribas.
Why, when the law ordained worship in one place, did Elijah build an altar on Carmel? Because “the law is not laid down for the righteous,” according to the divine Apostle, “but for the lawless and disobedient.” For he legislated that Israel worship in one place because of the fickleness of their mind, so that they would not take licence to worship the falsely named gods as well. But the prophet wished to show the weakness of the demons who lead the people astray and the omnipotence of the God of the universe; and it was not possible to bring them to the temple in Jerusalem, since the kingdom was divided in two. So he brought them up to Carmel, where he spent most of his time.
1 Kgs 18:19 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 18:30 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 12:5 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Elijah could build an altar on Carmel because the one-sanctuary law was for the unstable, and the divided kingdom made Jerusalem inaccessible for his demonstration.
- 1 Kgs 18:19–20, 30; 1 Tim 1:9; Deut 12:5–14. The staging notes that the OCR read the question number as 350. The subject of “he legislated” has dropped out of the printed text (ἀνυποτάκτοις. γὰρ …); translated by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated letter; word split by the OCR): θυσιαστήριον ὡ ᾠκοδόμησεν → θυσιαστήριον ᾠκοδόμησεν; Ἱεροσο λύμοις → Ἱεροσολύμοις.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.56 (PG 80 80:729; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-56). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-56
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-56) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
3.57PG 80 80:729
Πῶς νοητέον· Ἕως πότε χωλανεῖτε ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς ἰγνύαις ὑμῶν Καὶ τὸν Θεὸν προσεκύνουν, καὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις ἐλάτρευον. Ὅθεν ἐπήγαγεν· Εἰ ἔστι Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς, δεῦτε καὶ πορευθῶμεν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ. Εἰ δὲ ὁ Βάαλ ἐστὶν, πορεύεσθε ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ. Οὔτε ὁ Θεὸς βούλεται, φησὶ, τιμᾶσθαι τοὺς ψευδωνύμους θεοὺς, οὔτε αὐτοὶ τὸν ἀληθινὸν προσκυνεῖσθαι Θεόν. Ὑμεῖς δὲ ταῦτα κἀκεῖνα ποιεῖτε, καὶ οὐδετέρῳ φυλάττετε βεβαίαν τὴν εὔνοιαν.
Pōs noēteon; Heōs pote chōlaneite ep᾿ amphoterais tais ignyais hymōn Kai ton Theon prosekynoun, kai tois eidōlois elatreuon. Hothen epēgagen; Ei esti Kyrios ho Theos, deute kai poreuthōmen opisō autou. Ei de ho Baal estin, poreuesthe opisō autou. Oute ho Theos bouletai, phēsi, timasthai tous pseudōnymous theous, oute autoi ton alēthinon proskyneisthai Theon. Hymeis de tauta kakeina poieite, kai oudeterǭ phylattete bebaian tēn eunoian.
How should “How long will you go lame on both your hams?” be understood? They both worshiped God and served the idols. So he added, “If the Lord is God, come, let us follow him; but if Baal is, go after him.” Neither does God wish, he says, that the falsely named gods be honored, nor do they wish that the true God be worshiped; but you do both this and that, and keep firm loyalty to neither.
1 Kgs 18:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Elijah rebukes Israel for wavering between the Lord and Baal, loyal to neither.
- 1 Kgs 18:21 (LXX). The printed question lacks a question mark; the question is present.
Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 3.57 (PG 80 80:729; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-57). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/3-57
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-3-57) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.